CENTRE WELLINGTON – On a poverty report card from Food Banks Canada, the province of Ontario received a ‘D,’ and over 43% of people said they are feeling worse off financially than last year.
The spike has led to several upwards trends, namely an uptick in food bank usage that doesn’t exclude Centre Wellington.
Centre Wellington Food Bank management say they’ve seen a rapid climb in the number of new households and families utilizing their resources.
Jackie Andrews, chair of the board of directors, reports 167 families were using the food bank in August of 2021. The most recent figure, August of this year, shows 242 families required assistance.
Andrews provided more context, stating a lot more families aren’t just using the food bank once a month.
Manager Curt McQueen says this is not necessarily a bad trend.
McQueen says there are a variety of factors contributing to higher figures, including the cost of rent and lack of housing availability.
Both Andrews and McQueen went on to thank the community of Centre Wellington for their unparalleled generosity.
