By Carolyn Stewart, Feed Ontario CEO
At a recent dental check-up, my dentist asked me a question that caught me off guard:
“What has happened to our country?”
I had just shared with him that food bank use in Ontario has reached record highs. He shook his head. Even his own children, who were in their thirties and doing well, couldn’t afford a home. He told me that things have become impossible for people, and our standard of living has gotten worse. If his kids were struggling in their own way, what was happening for those who didn’t have the advantages they did? He told me he’s worried about the future of our country.
Sitting in the chair, I was taken aback. My dentist is a man in his late 50s, and someone who doesn’t encounter the same things those on the front lines of the nonprofit sector or social services do – but he’s beginning to see some of the same problems I’m seeing everyday in my work in food banking.
September is Hunger Action Month, and it’s more important than ever to highlight that since 2019, food bank use in the province has nearly doubled – from about 537,000 people to over 1 million people in just 6 years. At Feed Ontario, we’ve been sounding the alarm on food bank use in the province for over a decade, but every year food bank use reaches another record-high. How did we get here?
I’d liken it to travelling on a road. You might not notice when the first pothole or two form, but eventually, if they’re not addressed, the pavement deteriorates more and more. Suddenly, it seems, driving a familiar route is a lot more difficult than it used to be. Eventually, if nothing is done, the road becomes impossible to navigate.
The severity of the issues we’re seeing today built up gradually. The pressures of the pandemic, the rise in part-time, seasonal, and gig work, skyrocketing housing costs, and social assistance programs that have not kept pace with the cost of living have led a record-high number of our neighbours needing to turn to food banks for help.
Now, the cracks in the road have gotten too big to steer around.
Food banks have been working hard to meet the demand they’re seeing, and throughout the country we’ve been seeing greater calls for community responses to food insecurity. But food banks can’t do this work alone.
We need to work together to take care of our province and country, which means taking care of our neighbours so all our communities can thrive. When everyone has what they need to get by, they can help to create a vibrant community where they live.
During this Hunger Action Month, big or small, all actions can make a difference. Taking care of each other can look like volunteering at your local food bank or implementing research-informed policy choices. From your local community to all levels of government, if we unite, we can make sure no one is left behind.
Ultimately, taking care of each other means smoothing the road again, so that everyone can get to where they’re going.