Food banks across Canada continue to face soaring need this Thanksgiving, with one executive warning that things could quickly get worse.

Amid inflation, increasing food and housing costs, and precarious employment situations, the country害羞草研究所檚 food banks have watched the need for their goods balloon as the organizations enter what, for many, is a critical time of year for fundraising.

Neil Hetherington, CEO of Toronto害羞草研究所檚 Daily Bread, which supports more than 200 food programs in the area, said this long weekend has been the 害羞草研究所渕ost challenging Thanksgiving we have ever had.害羞草研究所�

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the organization saw about 65,000 client visits per month, he said. That number last month was 275,000.

害羞草研究所淵ou害羞草研究所檝e got food prices, you害羞草研究所檝e got a precarious work environment, and most of all lack of decent, affordable housing,害羞草研究所� he said.

害羞草研究所淎nd you put all of those things together and suddenly you can understand why people are turning to food banks.害羞草研究所�

At the Greater Vancouver Food Bank, chief operating officer Cynthia Boulter said the demand for food her food bank has seen this year is 害羞草研究所渦nprecedented.害羞草研究所�

害羞草研究所淲hen I started, about five years ago, we were supporting between 6,000 and 7,000 people a month and we害羞草研究所檙e up in the 16,000 to 17,000 number at the moment,害羞草研究所� she said.

In Quebec, demand for food assistance has been unrelenting for more than a year, according to Martin Munger, director of Les Banques alimentaires du Qu茅bec, a network of 32 organizations that supply local food aid programs.

害羞草研究所淲ith inflation on food, the demand continues to rise,害羞草研究所� Munger said.

His organization害羞草研究所檚 latest data, from March 2022, showed its network served 671,000 people in the province on average each month, an increase of nine per cent from 2021 and 33 per cent from 2019.

According to data from Food Banks Canada, the percentage of seniors accessing food banks has increased to 8.9 per cent in 2022 from 6.8 per cent in 2019 and that about one third of food bank users were children.

Hetherington said he害羞草研究所檚 frightened to see food bank usage be at record highs when unemployment rates in the country remain so low, and it害羞草研究所檚 something he害羞草研究所檚 warned both Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow about.

害羞草研究所淭hat害羞草研究所檚 upside down for us,害羞草研究所� he said.

害羞草研究所淎nd so I believe 害羞草研究所� we害羞草研究所檙e the canary in the coal mine, letting you know that as soon as there is some negative economic indicators on people害羞草研究所檚 ability to derive income from employment, or as interest rates escalate and people害羞草研究所檚 repayment terms change, things are gonna get real bad real soon.害羞草研究所�

Both Boulter and Hetherington say their organizations have so far been able to keep up with the need by increasing fundraising efforts, though Hetherington notes that Daily Bread is currently running a deficit budget.

READ ALSO:

Boulter said the Greater Vancouver Food Bank, which stopped accepting food from most community food drives in 2022, has put an increased focus on partnerships with food distributors and farmers to get access to fresh food.

害羞草研究所淲e focus a lot on recovering large industrial donations of food where, say, the avocados were a few centimetres too small and they were rejected because aesthetically they didn害羞草研究所檛 look right, or the bread was in the oven for 20 seconds too long, or something like that,害羞草研究所� she said.

They害羞草研究所檙e partnering with Food Banks B.C. on a provincewide campaign to collect online donations for food banks across British Columbia.

Boulter said the food bank害羞草研究所檚 bulk buying power means it can 害羞草研究所渁t least double害羞草研究所� the value of monetary donations.

She said many of the smaller food banks may not have the same online reach or fundraising resources her organization does.

害羞草研究所淲e害羞草研究所檙e hoping, with our advertising power, our following, and our ability, to get this out in front of a lot of people,害羞草研究所� she said.

Munger said in his case, despite new agreements with food producers and distributors, and funding from Quebec this summer, the food banks害羞草研究所� supply has been unable to match growing demand.

害羞草研究所淭he information we have from local food banks is it never stopped (growing and) many people are coming more frequently.害羞草研究所�

害羞草研究所淭he number of people using food banks is at the all-time high.害羞草研究所�

He issued a plea for Quebecers to consider financial donations to fund food purchases. 害羞草研究所淲e need (the) help of everybody.害羞草研究所�

Hetherington said people can help even if they害羞草研究所檙e not in a position to donate.

害羞草研究所淣ot everybody can donate food or funds, and we get that, but every one of us can call an elected official and say, 害羞草研究所楾oday害羞草研究所檚 the day to implement your poverty reduction strategy,害羞草研究所櫤π卟菅芯克鶟 he said.

害羞草研究所淎ll levels of government have one, but their feet are not held to the fire and held to account to be able to implement those.害羞草研究所�