Demand for food continues to rise at a Chatham food bank as the summer crunch approaches.
Outreach For Hunger Executive Director Brenda LeClair told CK News Today that her food bank has seen an extra 200 people per month needing food since Christmas. That's over and above the 40 per cent rise in demand reported at the end of last year.
LeClair said Outreach For Hunger hasn't had to cap how many they help, but are constantly re-evaluating and adjusting weekly food hampers when necessary.
"We try to at least make sure we're still able to give them a good week's worth of groceries. It may not be what they got last month because we just don't have it, but we can do some substituting and still put together a nutritional hamper," said LeClair.
She said the increased cost of living, such as higher rents, food prices, and utilities, has many families struggling to the point where they can't make ends meet.
LeClair added food banks are no longer just serving unemployed people, they are now helping working folks.
"There's many, many families working part time, minimum wage jobs, they have a couple of kids in the household and by the time they pay their housing expenses, their utilities, and try to buy nutritional foods for them, they just can't do it," LeClair noted.
LeClair noted food donations usually decline in the summer because it's not top of mind for people, adding that Outreach For Hunger needs more donations to get them through the summer.
"One of the most critical things right now is the kids still have a month of school to go and we're running very low on school snacks. So, anything that's nutritious like cereal bars, cheese and crackers, pure juice boxes. Anything like that that you'd want to put in your own child's school lunches we're really in need of," LeClair added.
She said other items such as canned tuna, canned meat, and condiments to go with a recent ground beef donation from the Chatham Sunrise Rotary Club are very welcome.
In 2025, Outreach For Hunger had almost 1,000 new visits, helped just over 11,000 people last year, and provided more than 14,000 school lunches.
The Chatham food bank is thanking their generous donors and volunteers, saying without their support they wouldn’t be able to serve the community.
