Food drive helps as more people face food insecurity in Norfolk

Donations from the annual Holiday Food Drive will be divided among eight local food banks, all feeling the strain as more people are facing food insecurity.

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“Now, more than ever, we see people are struggling to put food on the table. To be able to support not just one, but all of our local food banks, is really important and we’re happy to be able to do that tiny part to help alleviate some of that,” said Angela Hogeveen, general manager of the Norfolk County Agricultural Society, one of the sponsors of the annual event.

Staff from the agricultural society and co-sponsor Simcoe Reformer were on hand Tuesday at The Aud in Simcoe for a drive-thru drop-off of donated canned goods, toiletries and money.

Donations will be distributed among eight local food banks: St. Vincent de Paul Church (Simcoe), Church Out Serving, Salvation Army, Simcoe Caring Cupboard, Delhi, Port Dover, Port Rowan, and Waterford.

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A survey conducted last year by the Haldimand Norfolk Health Unit revealed a growing number of local residents don’t have enough money to buy the food they need for a healthy diet.

The Nutritious Food Basket survey determined the average monthly cost of a healthy diet for a family of four last year was $1,222.43, or just over $259 a week, up 5.5 per cent from 2022.

In 2021-2022, about one in six households in Haldimand and Norfolk counties experienced food insecurity, which “ranges from worrying about whether they can afford to buy food to physically skipping meals,” Laura Goyette, a public health dietician, said in an earlier interview. “The 2023 analysis reveals that for many, incomes are not enough to cover even the basic expenses.”

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Al Martens, chair of the Simcoe Caring Cupboard board and administrator of the food bank, said they’ve seen about a 40 per cent increase in the number of people using their services over the past four years. At the same time, donations of food are down.

“Times are tough,” said Martens. “Everybody’s feeling the pinch. What’s really killing people right now is rent. It’s through the roof. They want $1,800 for a one-bedroom apartment in Simcoe.”

For those on Ontario Works or the Ontario Disability Support Program, “after they pay their rent, most of them are done,” said Martens.

New data from Food Banks Canada suggests more people than ever are facing the difficult decision to use a food bank. Its annual survey of food bank use in Canada recorded more than two million visits in March 2024 — nearly double the monthly visits five years ago in March 2019, and six per cent above last year’s record-breaking figure.

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But Martens said the number of users of the Simcoe Caring Cupboard hasn’t increased as much as some other food banks because it continues to screen its clients to determine their need.

“It isn’t to deter people from coming but there are different levels of poverty,” he said. “We don’t want to just be enablers. We want to empower people.”

Martens said checking people’s income and expenses determines how often they can use the food bank. While many used to come in once a month, now “that’s just not enough.”

Up to 85 families, or 180 people, use the Simcoe Caring Cupboard each week. About 80 per cent of customers come in for food weekly. Martens said some clients are working but not earning enough to make ends meet.

Food and monetary donations to the Simcoe Caring Cupboard can be made at 23 Kent St. South. There are also donation boxes at local grocery stores.

Norma Daoust of Walsh pulled up in front of The Aud on Tuesday with her food and monetary donation.

“I know there’s a lot of people struggling,” she said. “I give them what I have around the house.”

Monica Hooper of Waterford made the drive to Simcoe to make a food donation.

“My mom wanted her cupboards cleaned out,” she said. “We do it every few months, and whatever she had multiples of she asked that I brought it down here. Church Out Serving does a lot of things and we tend to go their restaurant downtown, and we volunteer to help where we can. This is just another (way of) helping out.”

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