Food bank use is widening and more people are accessing them for the first time, local providers say

This year's Make the Season Kind campaign is in support of Hamilton Food Share. Throughout December, CBC Hamilton is taking a look at food insecurity in the region and shining a light on the local efforts to help.

There's an unprecedented increase in people needing food aid, and many are seeking it out for the first time, says the executive director of a food-rescue organization in Burlington, Ont.

"Poverty is not only deepening for people who were already experiencing food insecurity, but it's also widening," Karen Randell, executive director of Food For Life, told CBC Hamilton.

"Households who have never experienced food insecurity in the past are accessing food programs for the first time because their budgets cannot stretch the way they used to."

Food For Life collects and distributes goods that would otherwise be thrown out. This includes food taken off grocery store shelves and goods that suppliers consider surplus and never makes it to stores, Randell said. She said the organization supports about 100 programs in Halton and Hamilton, including food banks and pantries.

On Dec. 2, Feed Ontario — a network of more than 1,200 food banks and hunger-relief programs — released a report examining data from food banks in the province between April 1, 2023, and March 31, 2024. It found over one million people accessed a food bank in the province. Of those, about 40 per cent had never used one before.

Compared to the same period in 2019 to 2020, there has been an 86 per cent increase in people accessing Ontario food banks, Feed Ontario said.

Feed Ontario said 24 per cent of households visiting food banks report employment is their main source of income, double the rate reported pre-pandemic. Today, about 60 per cent of users rely on provincial social assistance.

"I think unfortunately, there's always been this kind of acceptance of a population that is experiencing food insecurity and for some reason people have been OK with it because they're on social assistance," Randell said. "We're definitely hearing more questions around the face of hunger."

The Salvation Army offers social services and food aid at its Fort Erie Community and Family Services location in Niagara, and at two Hamilton Community and Family Services locations: one downtown and one in Dundas. 

The Fort Erie Salvation Army food bank served 37 per cent more households in 2024 compared to 2023, the organization told CBC Hamilton. In the downtown area, the number increased by 18 per cent and it went up by 38 per cent in Dundas.

The percentage of new clients made up 42 per cent of users in Fort Erie, said Cortney Harkin, Salvation Army public relations officer for southwestern Ontario.

In 2023, about three per cent of users surveyed reported an income of over $2,500 per month, which is roughly minimum wage in Ontario. Now, 17 per cent of users report earning at least that much.

Harkin said they're also seeing more first-time users and newcomers who report moving to Fort Erie seeking affordable housing.