Here's why Hamilton food banks are feeding more people than ever — and how to help

Amanda Hill said she never wanted to use this kind of service again, but the pandemic left her with no choice.

"I stayed away from the food banks [for a long time] … but I just thought 'I need the help right now,'" said the 43-year-old single mother, who lives in Hamilton with her two daughters and grandchild. 

Hill is among a record number of people using local food banks and related services in recent years.

Since the start of the pandemic, many organizations have cited all-time high numbers. Those include: 

"These are unprecedented times for us," said Food4Kids executive director Cathy Haan.

With job losses related to the pandemic and rising food and housing costs, some of the city's most vulnerable populations have faced even tougher circumstances than usual. While that highlights the dire need to improve food security, the increased need has also shown how willing people in the Hamilton area are to help each other.

Local food banks say the pandemic has left people of all ages and creeds with growling stomachs.

Niwasa's executive director Monique Lavallee said nearly 36 per cent of the people the organization fed this year are 18 and under. She said that aligns with a 2015 report that showed some 37 per cent of local Indigenous children were living in poverty.

"We're seeing an alignment with what we already knew before the pandemic," she said.

Lavallee said the organization has also seen more single parents and women, however.

Welcome Inn Community Centre executive director James VanderBerg said 36 per cent of the centre's clients this year came for the first time and 37 per cent of clients are new to Canada.

The Flamborough Food Bank's managing director Jim Leamen said the vast majority of his clients are young families while Jewish Family Services executive director Alexis Wenzowski said her organization works with lots of seniors.

Meanwhile, Haan from Food4Kids — a program set up in some Hamilton public and Catholic schools — added 100 new spots this year but still had to resort to creating a questionnaire to determine which students needed food immediately and which would have to join a wait list. She said there are 68 kids and five schools waiting for a spot.

Hill, the mother who has had to use a food bank once again, said she can't work due to a disability and relies on around $1,200 in monthly government support. She needed the help because the price of food and supplies climbed during the pandemic.