Ottawa Food Bank says it’s short on food: ‘Never seen anything like this’
Global News
The food bank tied the donation shortage to the high price of groceries that continues to outpace inflation, which has other food banks struggling to meet growing demand.
The Ottawa Food Bank on Monday said it is being forced to cut shifts for volunteers due to a shortage of donated food — and it’s pointing to the impact of high food prices as a reason for the shortfall.
“We have sadly not received enough donated food in recent weeks to be sorted,” the food bank said in a post on social media.
“We recognize this as a sign that high food prices are understandably impacting donor habits,” the post added.
CEO Rachael Wilson told Global News in interview that typically, there’s enough food in the organization’s warehouse for 10 sorting shifts per week.
On Monday, she said the current food stock could be sorted in a single shift. Available sorting shifts have been cut in half, she added.
“We’ve never seen anything like this,” she said.
The shortfall comes as demand continues to spike. Wilson said the food bank is on track to see a record half a million visits by the end of this year, up from over 400,000 visits in the previous fiscal year.