As it kicks off its 30th annual Thanksgiving food drive, the London Food Bank is offering up some sobering statistics about those in the city struggling with food insecurity.
Usage of the food bank has jumped 30 per cent over the past ten years with 6,000 food hampers being distributed each month by 23 different programs. The number of meals being served is also up by 36 per cent since 2008. In March alone, 58,016 meals were served to people in need by 42 different programs.
The figures are part of a new food bank initiative, dubbed HungerWatch, which collects data from 14 agencies operating hamper programs and monthly meal services in London.
"Across the city today there are thousands of families that are getting together around the table and are trying to figure out where they are going to get food," said Glen Pearson, co-executive director of the London Food Bank. "Many of these people, 48 per cent of London workers are now in precarious or vulnerable work. They have no benefits, they have no pensions... We have to give the people of London, the funders, the clients and the other agencies all of the information that they need to tackle what is going to be a permanent and a huge problem in London. Hunger is here to stay and people need the right information in order to fight it."
The initiative marks the first time all agencies offering food-based programs have pooled their information in an effort to paint a clearer picture of food insecurity in London.
"This is just the start. As time goes on we want to look at more deeply who is hungry and do more in-depth analysis in terms of the stats," said Jane Roy, co-executive director of the London Food Bank. "We have the numbers and now we want to look at 'what is the family like, what is the family makeup, where are they coming from in the city.' That is the future of where this is going."
Since the start of the year, the food bank has seen just over 3,400 families a month relying on its services. The Salvation Army, which is one of 25 agencies that receive food from the food bank to stock its shelves, is now serving 83 families a day, an increase of 10 families a day since last year.
"It is a stat that we are really concerned about," said Shannon Wise, Salvation Army spokesperson. "In London, there are many families that are struggling that may not know where to go and that is one of the reasons why we want to collaborate with this food drive."
The Thanksgiving food drive kicks off Friday and continues through October 8.
"What we are asking for the food drive is non-perishables and that includes anything that we would buy for ourselves. There is a big push for things like cereals, oatmeal, canned soups, spaghetti, all of those typical non-perishable things," said Roy. "If people want to give us fresh items in terms of fresh fruit, potatoes, items with a limited shelf life, they need to bring it directly to us at the food bank."
Last year's drive, brought in 67,619 lbs of food, 60 percent of which was given to other local non-profit agencies to distribute to those in need. Volunteers will be handing out paper donation bags at various grocery stores through the drive.
Donations can be dropped off at any London fire hall, grocery stores, or at the London Food Bank warehouse at 926 Leathorne St.
