Dartmouth food program reports spike in demand

A non-profit organization in Dartmouth, N.S., that helps people living on a lower income access food says it's seeing a big increase in demand.

Wendy Fraser, executive director of The North Grove, told CBC's Mainstreet Halifax on Tuesday that many of the people who attend its community meals, use its subsidized produce market and trading cupboard have jobs — but they're not making enough money.

"I wish that people would have a guaranteed basic income that was livable and I wish that the wrap-around services were in place so that people had the basic guaranteed income they need to make life livable," Fraser said.

The North Grove's offers drop-in meals four times a week, serving 940 people in May. That's an increase of 45 per cent compared to a year earlier, according to a news release issued Tuesday.

The number of people accessing its subsidized produce market was up 135 per cent in May compared to the same month last year, the release said. Last year, the weekly market served an average of 85 shoppers. In May, the weekly average was 200 people. 

Those using the market are also buying more produce, the release said, and that's forcing the organization to order 50 per cent more produce compared to January 2023.

Finally, the number of people using its trading cupboard — which offers non-perishable food, toiletries and diapers — has increased 200 per cent compared to last year. 

The release noted there were 50 visits to the cupboard in December, which is "a high-need time of year." But the numbers "have climbed significantly every month since then, reaching an unprecedented 143 visits in May."

Fraser told Mainstreet people are living in "much more poverty and so the need is greater."

According to recent numbers released by Statistics Canada, nearly one in four people in Nova Scotia can't consistently and reliably afford healthy and nutritious food.

'A much bigger problem'

That data also indicated the number of people living with food insecurity in Nova Scotia jumped to 22 per cent in 2022, from 17 per cent in 2021.

"Everybody's budgets have changed as a result of what's happening with inflation. I feel personally like it is our collective duty to make sure that those of us who are struggling the most are not left behind," Fraser said. 

"And so that would be my hope, is that people think about ways they can contribute — not necessarily to The North Grove — to organizations that are doing this work, but also to who they vote in [someone who is] going to try and address this, because I think it's really a much bigger problem than something that can be fixed by the not-for-profit sector."