Canadians Flock to Food Banks as Grocery Prices Soar
“We are absolutely in a food crisis in this country and certainly in the city of Toronto,” Neil Hetherington said in an AFP interview.
His organization saw the number of people using its services double during the Covid-19 pandemic to an average of 120,000 per month, which continued to rise to a record 270,000 in March.
Of the newcomers to the 128 food banks across the Toronto area affiliated with Daily Bread, many have full-time jobs but still can’t seem to make ends meet, Hetherington said as volunteers sorted through donations at its depot in a suburb of Toronto.
Although overall inflation has cooled to 4.3 percent in March from a peak of 8.1 percent last June, food inflation remains stubbornly high at around 10 percent year over year.
Hetherington noted that accommodations — both rentals and homes for sales — are also out of reach of many Canadians after a jump in real estate prices last year, compounding cost-of-living woes.
According to a report by the real estate firm Urbanation, the average cost of a studio apartment in Canada’s largest city is 2,124 Canadian dollars (US$1,568) per month, up about 380 Canadian dollars from last year.
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