During the holiday season, the outpouring of generosity to local food banks was incredible.
Hockey teams, schools and organizations participated in collecting non-perishable food items to support families in need. But at the end of the holidays, the need for food banks doesn’t get put away like Christmas decorations.
The Saint-Vincent de Paul Society in Alexandria is fortunate to have the support of local businesses which provide canned goods and frozen items weekly to its food bank.
Suzanne Gareau, who is responsible for the local food bank, said donations during December were generous enough to support the charity through January, but with the increase in numbers requiring help, the pressure is on.
There was a 58 per cent increase in requests for a basket of food from December 2023 to December 2024, with the average number of baskets per month in 2024 being 206 baskets.
There was a 47 per cent increase in the number of households depending upon the food bank, increasing from 116 in December 2023 to 171 in December 2024. In addition, the number of households with families has increased from 141 in January 2024 to 179 in January 2025.
The next collection is the Red Ribbon Food Drive, organized the week before Easter by the Revive Church. Teams go door-to-door asking residents to participate in the campaign. Those who agree are given an information letter along with a bag for the donations and a red ribbon to tie the bag.
With increasing costs, especially food, more families are looking to the food banks for support. The demand for assistance has put pressure on the organizations which are struggling to keep enough resources available to feed the families who are in need.
In Ontario, there are over 1,200 food banks, helping more than 1 million people in the province. Feed Ontario is the cooperative of hunger-relief collectives helping to deliver over 10 million pounds of food while advocating for solutions to end hunger.
The winter months between food collections are long and the need continues.
Food and monetary donations are always accepted and appreciated. The Alexandria food bank can be reached at saintvincentalexandria@gmail.com.
