Visits to Hamilton food banks up 10 per cent this year, survey suggests

Emergency visits to food banks for groceries rose 10 per cent in 2017 from a year earlier, according statistics collected by Hamilton Food Share, the umbrella organization for the area's 11 food banks.

The number of adults visiting food banks rose 9.5 per cent, where the number of children using food banks rose 10.3 per cent from 2016.

The Food Share statistics suggest more people are visiting food banks who fear they'll lose their housing due to not having enough money.

Forty per cent of visitors are coming back more than once a month.

"The real story is the depth of hunger," said Joanne Santucci, executive director of Hamilton Food share. "They have a gap that is so wide, how do they fill that gap with less than a month to go to keep the roof over their family's head."

In Hamilton, the share of people using a food bank who say they have a disability is twice as high as the national average — 36 per cent in Hamilton compared to 18 per cent nationally.

Santucci said cuts and a lack of cost-of-living increases to social assistance means those who receive government help throught Ontario Works or Ontario Disability Support Program find themselves supplementing with food bank items.

Recipients of the two social programs comprise 71 per cent of the food banks' visitors. 

How to help fill the hunger gap this holiday season

The numbers illustrate the fact that a growing number of Hamiltonians are hungry.

Next week, an annual tradition kicks off to raise awareness and food and money donations to try to fill some of that need.

The CP Holiday Train rolls into Hamilton on Tues., Nov. 28, at 7:45 p.m. south of Gage Park on Lawrence Road.

The annual train journey travels across Canada and the U.S. to raise money and food donations for local food banks. Hamilton Food Share is the recipient locally.

Organizers ask anyone coming to see the lights and concert to bring coins and healthy, non-perishable food donations.

"When you see that beautiful streak of light coming through a dark Gage Park, it's also shedding that light on hunger, too," Santucci said. "We have people in our community who wouldn't be able to participate in the holidays without help from the food bank."

Santucci said Food Share is looking to assemble 10,000 Christmas hampers this year.

Some ideas of items that are especially needed: 

• tuna
• beans
• stews
• rice
• pasta 
• cereal
• baby food
• fruits and vegetables

CBC Hamilton will also be collecting food items and cash donations throughout the month of December for Hamilton Food Share.

Mark your calendar to join us for our "Sounds of the Season" open house from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Art Crawl on Dec. 8, and drop by our station at 118 James Street North anytime in December with your donations.