Elliot Lake food bank use up since mall collapse
National food bank report highlights impact of jobs lost at Algo mall
A new report on food bank use across the country notes Elliot Lake has seen a jump in the number of people coming through the door since the Algo Centre Mall roof collapse.
The Food Banks Canada report analyzed data from March of 2013, almost a year after hundreds of people lost their jobs at the doomed mall.
The Elliot Lake Emergency Food Bank reported it served 150 more people each month this year. The report says that is a 50 per cent increase.
Across the country, food bank use remains higher than when the recession hit five years ago.
Sudbury in line with national numbers
The food bank in Sudbury said demand in the city is in line with national figures. Those figures also note children make up a third of people served.
"Sudbury's figures [show] about 35 to 40 per cent of people that use our services are children," said Dan Xilon, executive director of the Sudbury Food Bank.
"Now keep in mind, we're also in a lot of schools where there's breakfast programs, after school programs, and that kind of stuff, so those count as children. But there are lot of families out there with children that need assistance."
Xilon said the food bank is also seeing an increase in immigrants using its services.
He added more people who have jobs are looking to the food bank to help make ends meet.