A report by a charity based in Toronto reveals that food insecurity is increasing due to the persistence of COVID-19 and it has led to a remarkable spike in new food bank clients since the advent of the pandemic.
The recently published report by the Daily Bread Food Bank reveals that the rate of new clients gaining access to its member food banks has tripled since the crisis began.
The report reveals data taken from across Toronto revealed that 6,100 people started accessing food banks in June against 2,000 people in February.
A related survey shows that about three-quarter of these new clients started accessing food banks as a result of the pandemic and the major reasons for accessing food banks are job losses and reduced hours.
While talking about this development, Neil Hetherington, CEO of Daily Bread Food Bank said the report summarises a tale of two cities in which some residents are more prone than others.
He said: “Some have experienced the pandemic and were able to stay at home and had the choice and ability to work from home and others were not given that choice.”
34 percent of the 221 food bank clients who responded to the phone survey said they would not be able to pay their rent in four to six months time while twenty-eight percent said they received the Canada Emergency Response Benefit but still had to rely on food banks.
Also, the survey also suggested the majority of the clients came from demographics that stand the risk of contracting COVID-19. According to the report, 51 percent of respondents were above the age of 60 or possess an underlying health condition.
The report said Daily Bread Food Bank also managed to cope with reduced capacity simultaneously as demand was increasing.
It said one-third of its locations were coerced to shut their doors during a widespread lockdown when the outbreak started. The locations that were affected were based in shuttered community centres, managed by high-risk volunteers or housed in spaces not wide to permit physical distancing.
While talking further, Hetherington said the food bank has also witnessed a heavy reduction in food donations amid the pandemic from nearly 454,000 kilograms in March 2019 to about 136,000 kilograms in 2020.
He said despite the massive reduction, there has been generosity from Canadians and government at all levels to ensure the food bank meets its goals.
The Executive Director of Feed Ontario, Carolyn Stewart said Ontario’s food bank network witnessed a “significant surge” in demand once state of emergency took effect provincewide. She said majority of the demand came from first-time food-bank users.
Stewart said she does not expect the need for food bank services to drop any time soon despite the fact that lockdown measures have been relaxed across the province.
In a statement, Stewart said: “While CERB may have initially helped to flatten the curve of food bank use in some regions, we are concerned that when CERB ends, food banks across the province will see another influx in demand.
“We have also identified the lifting of the current ban on evictions as another point when we may see a surge in need, particularly if this happens within close proximity to CERB ending, or if low-income renters impacted by COVID-19 are faced with large rent arrears that strain or exceed already tight budgets.”
