Food-bank demand soars

The recession, layoffs and the burden of big bills has sent demand soaring at the Dundas food bank.

So much so that community leaders organized an emergency food drive on Saturday.

The Dundas Salvation Army Food Bank has seen a 26 per cent increase in users over this time last year, says co-ordinator Diane Dunnett.

“The food we would normally have (at this time of year) would hold us until September,” Dunnett said. “But we only had a month to a month-and-a-half of food left.”

It’s the first time in the Dundas food bank’s 20 years existence that an emergency food drive has been needed, she said. The yearly food drive in October, plus the Christmas donations, usually carry the food bank for the year.

“We’ve had a lot of new people...people who lost their apartments and are sleeping on the floor of their parents’ apartment or in friends’ apartments,” Dunnett said.

She said job losses are the key to the increase. some people are unemployed. In other cases, two-income families are down to one job and struggling with high-end homes they can’s sell. Still others are people who don’t have the savings to keep them going as things get tight.

Comments

[Tony the tiger]

it's getting so bad for the food banks in Hamilton they actually have to turn people away. :(