Food banks hold balance of giving, receiving in rural Ontario communities

On a November afternoon in Fergus, Ont., Lynne Schneider pushes a cart around the produce section of the Centre Wellington Food Bank, which is set up like a small market.   

Schneider, 71, lives on a pension that doesn't quite cover the cost of groceries and relies on the food bank to fill that gap.

There are many people like her in the community, she believes, noting that demand for the food bank can be so high that it's sometimes tough to get an appointment.

"We'd be lost without them," said Schneider of the food bank.

Her situation is one that's becoming more common in rural Canada.

While food banks in large urban centres have seen a major uptick in demand from people who lost their jobs during the pandemic, a recent report from Food Banks Canada points to a different trend in small cities and rural areas: a slow, steady increase in users who are seniors or people with disabilities whose income supports haven't kept up with the cost of living.

"This long-term trend, while also evident in larger urban centres, has been particularly pronounced in smaller urban centres and in rural areas," the report noted.

Food insecurity present among working adults

But a job doesn't necessarily keep people from being hungry, either. While more than half of users at the Centre Wellington Food Bank are seniors, managing director Fred Aleksandrowicz estimates about another third are people with jobs. 

"The working poor — I hate to use that word, but that's what it is," said Aleksandrowicz.

Food insecurity among working adults and their families is another long-standing problem in Canada, according to PROOF, a food insecurity research group out of the University of Toronto.

Before the pandemic, about 65 per cent of households in Canada experiencing food insecurity relied on income from work, according to Statistics Canada data compiled by the group.

Most of the food bank users at the Wilmot Family Resource Centre in New Hamburg are working, said executive director Tricia Robinson. Faced with the competing costs of basics like food, rent and gas, people are left to make "impossible choices," she said.  

"Do you pay the rent? Do you pay for your car insurance? Do you pay for your children's shoes? Do you pay for food?" asked Robinson. "Often, food is at the very bottom of the list."

Balance of giving and receiving

Because hunger is fundamentally a symptom of poverty, the Food Banks Canada report noted it will take policy changes — like financial support for renters and low-income workers — to ensure everyone can afford to put food on the table.

In the meantime, Robinson urged people who are in a tough situation to reach out to their community.  

"Allowing people to help you when you need it, it's a gift to the people who want to give back — and then your turn will come another time," she said.

That balance between giving and receiving is also in play at a new pop-up location of the Cambridge Food Bank in Ayr.

Held in the parking lot of a United church, the mobile food bank is set up like an outdoor farmer's market, where a fee of $5 gets people between $20 and $30 worth of fresh fruit and vegetables.

The food bank had started off in Ayr by distributing more traditional food hampers, but executive director Dianne McLeod said many people were reluctant to take them. They wanted instead to pay their own way, she said.

The fee of $5 was the solution. While it doesn't cover the full cost of the groceries, McLeod said people who can afford to pay more will, whether that's $200 or $6.  

"It gives them a lot of pride and joy knowing that they're helping out the person next to them," said McLeod, who noted the Ayr location has quickly become the food bank's busiest satellite.  

'It's kind of a rotating circle'

Back in Fergus, Wendy Morgan has also seen the power of giving and receiving firsthand in her community.

Morgan, 50, was at the food bank picking up groceries for her kids and grandkids. Her family's income was hit hard by COVID-19 and, while she's back to work full time, it isn't enough yet to make ends meet.  

"I'm glad they're here for the support," she said.  

Morgan said she feels fortunate to live in her small community where people do what they can for each other — whether that's making a donation or simply bringing hand-me-down boots and snowpants to a neighbour in need.  

"When we have extra things and we don't need it, then we donate back into the foodbank, so it's kind of a rotating circle," she said.

"We all pull together."

CBC K-W's annual Sounds of the Season campaign raises food and funds for The Food Bank of Waterloo Region.

• Read more about what you can do to support the food bank this year.