Demand spikes at Hamilton food banks in lead-up to Christmas

This Christmas, Dianna Varcoe will not have to choose between groceries and gifts for her kids.

Walking out of Good Shepherd Venture Centre's annual Christmas Marketplace with a cart full of groceries, toys and other essentials, Varcoe, a single mother of four, said she saved over $60 by using the food bank - money she can put toward other stuff."

It is definitely significant help, especially at this time of the year," she said.

Varcoe is among thousands of Hamiltonians who will utilize holiday programs at food banks across the city this season.

And, with inflation and rising food costs, Good Shepherd and other organizations are trying to keep up with a spike in demand.

Good Shepherd's marketplace, which provides food as well as decorations, toys, stocking stuffers and clothes, is one of at least 11 similar holiday programs in Hamilton.

Program manager Mark Tennant said the food bank has been preparing for the Christmas rush since July, including planning the marketplace, food drives and meals. This year, his team has had to take inflation into account.

They started by getting an idea (of) what can we offer, what is going to be made available and how much can we offer," Tennant explained as he walked through Good Shepherd's Cannon Street East warehouse, which is filled with non-perishable food items, hygiene products and clothes.

You can only work with what's in front of you," he said.

This holiday season, about 140 households are expected to visit the marketplace daily during its five-week run from Nov. 21 to Dec. 23, Tennant said.

That's roughly a 25 per cent increase over recent years. On top of that, Tennant said the organization is still accepting an additional five to 18 new households each day.

The Six Nations Community Food Bank went from roughly 50 clients per week in 2019 to more than 300 in late 2022, said Mary Monture, vice-chair of the organization.

She said demand always grows around Christmas time. But what's different this year, Monture said, is with the economy, high prices, loss of jobs ... families have to make a choice."

Should they get something for their kids on Christmas? How do they fit that into a budget when (they) are trying to raise a family?" she asked.

And while demand has increased, donations have remained minimal, Monture said. So, the food bank has been trying to stretch its supply by, for example, offering half a dozen eggs instead of the usual dozen.

We have to come up with innovative ideas and ways to ensure that nearly everybody gets something."

Some local food banks in Hamilton, meanwhile, are working with local farmers, organizations and Hamilton Food Share to stock up for both regular and seasonal demands.

Hamilton Food Share, an umbrella organization for local food banks, has been supporting at least 23 hunger relief programs across the city, said operations manager Karen Randell. This December, more than 10,000 Christmas hampers are expected to be distributed in Hamilton.

Hamilton's emergency food banks have seen a 19 per cent increase in the number of visits between March 2021 and November 2022, Randell said.

Standing near piles of boxes assigned to various food banks - including the Neighbour to Neighbour Centre, Wesley, Good Shepherd, Mission Services and St. Matthew's House, among others - Randell said food bank access in the last six months has gone through the roof" and increased need in the community is always a challenge."

Of the households visiting the food banks, about three per cent were first-time visitors. Over the past six months, Randell said, demand for food banks went up 10 per cent, which is cause for alarm."

It's important to stay focused on the fact that poverty is deepening for families who are already struggling and that now we're seeing new people accessing food banks," she added.

Wesley, St. Matthew's House and Neighbour to Neighbour have all increased the size of their holiday programs this year.

St. Matthew's House runs a Christmas Adopt-a-Family program, which matches low-income families and seniors with sponsor families, who help provide food and gifts.

Since food prices have gone up, we've asked our sponsors to include a larger gift card for groceries so that families are adequately able to purchase a full holiday meal or some meals over the holiday season," said Madeleine Bond, the holiday program co-ordinator.

The St. Matthew's program will be serving more than 2,000 individuals this year. The organization will also have emergency appointments available on Dec. 23 for seniors who missed their chance to register for Adopt-a-Family.

Wesley, meanwhile, will be providing special holiday meals to participants in refugee programs, child care programs and encampments across the city - and is likewise expecting a higher number of people compared to previous years.

Part of that is we have a lot of new people who came to Canada from Ukraine (as well as) Afghan refugees, but also people in programs across the organization are feeling the financial pinch of inflation," said Celeste Taylor, director of fundraising at Wesley.

She added the organization is asking for donations to please help us ... because we have nowhere near the supplies required to put food in place."

Households can register for Christmas shopping at only one of the local food banks in the city, simply for capacity reasons," said Hamilton Food Share's Randell.

But that doesn't limit them from visiting multiple food banks for groceries and other items in December.

That is all about reducing food insecurity. That's why we're here, right?" said Good Shepherd's Tennant. We are here so they don't have to choose between paying their rent or putting food on the table."

Ritika Dubey is a reporter at The Spectator. rdubey@thespec.com

How to donate

Six Nations Food Bank: sncfoodbank@gmail.com, 519-771-0025

St. Matthew's House: stmatthewshouse.ca/services-programs/adopt-a-family/

Good Shepherd: goodshepherdcentres.ca/donate/

Wesley: wesley.ca/donate-now/

Neighbour to Neighbour: www.n2ncentre.com/donate/