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Food banks struggle as demands increase

With the number of people using food banks on the rise in Ontario, many are concerned with how to meet the increased demand.

Ontario Association of Food Banks director Adam Spence visited Timmins yesterday to address issues facing food banks.

In Timmins, the problem isn't just the amount of food organizers are receiving, but the kinds of food.

"We have other needs other than just cereal," said Timmins Food Bank volunteer D'Arcy Quinn. "We're hoping what with the work we're doing here today, with them listening to us, there will be better communication so we can get more of the types of food we need."

The Timmins Food Bank hopes to get more canned vegetables, pasta and canned meats. It is also seeking consideration to become a distribution site for the OAFB.

Currently, the food travels from a distribution centre in Toronto up Hwy. 11 to Cochrane, where volunteers from regional food banks can pick up skids of food. Spence said having a regional distribution site is best for all involved, because serving all 17 food banks in the region would be impossible. And it's not likely to change in the near future.

"In the short term, we want to maintain the Cochrane site," said Spence, who said that Timmins has the best food bank in the province, in terms of operation and efficiency.
"We're going to look at options and possibilities because maintaining it without having to make any changes is our best solution."

According to Spence, the number of people who use food banks in Ontario has increased 20% in the past year alone, a number that is expected to continue to rise.

"We want to maintain the amount of food we provide, more is going to be a challenge," he said. "It's come to a point where the local communities providing food and financial donations have been stretched to the limit."

Spence said one way to increase the amount food available for distribution is by working with hunting and agricultural associations across the province.

"There are 25 million pounds wasted every year," he said. "We're looking at getting it off the farm fields and up to food banks."

Since the Timmins Food Bank started in 2005, the number of families registered has increased from just more than a dozen to more than 1,400.

Quinn said with the impending closure of Xstrata Coppers Kidd Creek Met Site, they expect more people will start needing food bank services in the next year.

"It's growing, unfortunately, by leaps and bounds and things are not getting any better," Quinn said. "The Kidd Creek issue will have a ripple effect of hurting a lot of people."
Mayor Tom Laughren, as well as local MP Charlie Angus and MPP Gilles Bisson, have offered help in the grant application process to access both provincial and federal programs. Currently in Canada, only the province of Quebec provides annual funding, to the tune of $250,000 a year, to its food banks.

"We find that in desperate times, northern people always come out to help," Quinn said. "They've shown us gratitude and support, from school kids to businesses."

The biggest wish, Quinn said, is that one day there won't be a need for food banks. But since that isn't likely to happen, he said they simply want to keep at what they've been doing.

"We're just going to make sure people have the food they need," he said. "We want to keep everyone fed with food in their cupboards."

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The Timmins Daily Press
Chelsey Romain
Tue Feb 2 2010

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