“It’s really hard to get food because everything is getting more expensive": Elena, Daily Bread Food Bank client
Like tens of thousands of people across the GTA, Elena comes to a food bank to top up her grocery shopping every week.
She says she is not sure what she would do without access to the Daily Bread Food Bank.
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“It has been difficult,” said Elena, who did not wish to share her last name.
On Thursday, she had a 12:30 p.m. appointment at the Etobicoke food bank to select whatever she needed.
Daily Bread is a massive hub supplying 189 food banks across the GTA.
“It’s really hard to get food because everything is getting more expensive,” said Elena, minutes before collecting a range of goods including fresh produce.
She is on disability and lives with her daughter on limited income.
She still ventures to the grocery store, but each visit, she says, brings added pressure to her monthly budget.
“It’s been tough because I go in the store and practically every time I go, the prices are higher for things I have purchased in the past. So it’s not fun,” Elena said. “If I go and let’s say the bread was like $3 last time, and then it’s $4 or $5, it really upsets me,” Elena said.
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EDITORIAL: Food bank usage shows families are hurting
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Food bank use triples, hits record almost every month: Daily Bread Food Bank
Across town, the Thorncliffe Food Bank is also replenished by Daily Bread.
Organizers there say they have noticed a major increase in demand this year.
“We are seeing four times as many families as we usually see,” said coordinator Shumaila Saeed.
She said most of the residents in the area are recent arrivals to the country and she has registered a marked increase of clients from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Ukraine.
“It’s difficult for them — and many of them are coming for the first time. They are shy about having to need the food bank,” Saeed said.
One of its most pressing needs is flour.
Many of Thorncliffe’s clients prefer making their own bread, rather than taking donated sliced bread.
In Ottawa, the federal NDP wants a deep look into whether grocery stores are profiting off inflation by charging more.
While inflation was running hot at seven per cent in August, food inflation was pushing 11%.
The Bank of Canada has said the inflationary drag on the economy and households is unsustainable and will be tackled.
Elena hopes the prices that have pushed her to use Daily Bread more often, come down soon.
“I would not be able to sustain myself just by going and buying everything,” she said. “I can’t.”
slaurie@postmedia.com