‘A breaking point’: 2024 a tough year for local food banks

Food insecurity is at an all-time high, more people are going to local food banks to get help due to challenging economic factors like the rising costs of living.

Tired of using the words “record-breaking,” the CEO of The Food Bank of Waterloo Region, Kim Wilhelm, said that’s exactly what 2024 was for them.

In December, the organization recorded a 25 per cent increase in users needing food assistance from the year prior. Wilhelm mentioned they saw about 23,000 adults and children come in the door, more than 42,00 times in just that month.

“In 41 years of food banking here in Waterloo Region, The Food Bank of Waterloo Region has continued to see record-breaking numbers.”

“Over the course of the year, 558,000 visits to a local food hamper program which is frankly just an astonishing number,” said Wilhelm. “It really underscores just how deep of an issue we have here, not only in Waterloo Region but in the province.”

The food bank’s data shows that from Oct. 1 to the end of December, 48,377 food hampers were given out in the region, a 6 per cent increase from the same quarter in 2023.

It also shows that more homes with children in them used the food bank at that time. There was a 10 per cent increase in two-parent households with children and a 7 per cent increase in single-parent households with children using the food bank compared to the same quarter in 2023.

In that quarter, 14,418 children used the local food bank, increasing by 8 per cent.

Wilhelm added that many households are stretched too thin, being forced to choose between essentials like paying rent or paying for groceries.

“Ongoing economic challenges, rising costs of living, critical shortage of affordable housing, food inflation – they’re all making it harder for individuals and families to make ends meet at the end of the month.”

The Food Bank of Waterloo Region got an increase in funding from the region in December, asking for $2 million, but instead, the region allocated $1.5 million.

Cambridge’s Food Bank is reporting the need is at an all-time high. In an email, the CEO says they’re “reaching a breaking point.”

A coordinated effort between all levels of government is needed to “change this reality” and they want more people to fight against food insecurity.

Both local food banks reports correlate to data found on the Food Bank of Canada’s website. It shows that in March 2024, Canada recorded the highest number of people accessing a food bank in history, which was also a 90 per cent increase compared to 2019.

The site mentions there are signs that the food banking system is “reaching its absolute limit.”

The data for Ontario shows that there were 736,335 food bank visits last year, about 218,308 of those were children. That represents a 116.8 per cent increase in total visits from 2019.