Thunder Bay Food Bank reports rising demands from families, newcomers to Canada
CBC
Allison Hill says she tries to make people’s experience at the Thunder Bay Food Bank “as pleasant as possible.”
The organization, located on the city’s south side, serves about 140 households, consisting of more than 200 adults and about 100 children — and it’s always seeing new faces.
No matter the weather, clients can be seen lined up along the street, waiting for the doors to open at 9 a.m. every second Friday.
“A wide cross-section of people — singles, big families, couples, seniors, students, everybody,” said Hill, chair of the food bank’s board of directors. “We don't question why they're here. If people are coming to a food bank, we know they need help.”
Feed Ontario’s annual Hunger Report recently revealed that more than one million Ontarians used a food bank in the last year, resulting in a record-breaking 8.7 million visits.
Locally, about 19.5 per cent of households in the Thunder Bay district are food insecure, according to the Thunder Bay District Health Unit (TBDHU).
“There are more large families coming in and we know that it's likely because of the rising price of food — that they can't buy as much with the dollars that they have, so that they need a little extra help,” Hill said.
Grocery costs have also influenced what food banks are able to purchase. For example, Hill said coffee has become too expensive for the organization to justify.
“Anyone who donates coffee, that's huge. When we don't have it, we feel badly for people,” she said.
Nationally, about 34 per cent of food bank clients are newcomers to Canada who have been in the country for 10 years or less, says Food Banks Canada’s 2025 Hunger Count.
“The increase in need among recent newcomers makes the massive gaps in our safety net more visible and reinforces the urgent need for reform,” the report says.
Hill has also noticed more newcomers at the Thunder Bay Food Bank.
“A few weeks ago, I started noticing some people in line who were new Canadians who seem to not have the right clothes for our winter weather,” she said. “I put out a call to our volunteers if anybody has hats, knits, jackets, boots, whatever — and been overwhelmed.”
As demands at the food bank have increased, Hill said the community has remained generous, which has helped the service stay afloat. It also receives donations through Canada Helps from elsewhere in the country.
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