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Facing unprecedented demand, Orangeville Food Bank hopes to collect 100,000 lbs through 2023 Holiday Food Drive

November 23, 2023   ·   0 Comments

The Orangeville Food Bank is excited to announce the commencement of its 2023 Holiday Food Drive, setting an ambitious target to address the unprecedented surge in demand for food assistance this year.

In response to the dramatic rise in food bank utilization, the not-for-profit is looking to collect 100,000 pounds of food to meet the community’s growing needs.

“We, like food banks across Ontario and Canada, are seeing a dramatic increase in the need for our services as people from every walk of life struggle to cope with increasing food prices; inflation and the effects of higher interest rates. Our goal is a third of the food we will need this year to ensure we can feed our neighbours, friends and family. We so appreciate the support of the community; without you, we couldn’t do what we do,” said Orangeville Food Bank executive Heather Hayes.

Food bank statistics

In March 2023, Canadians made 1.9 million visits to food banks – a 79 per cent increase compared to pre-pandemic visits during the same time period in 2019.

In Orangeville, there’s been a 94 per cent increase in visits to the food bank compared to pre-pandemic visits in March of 2019.

The top three reasons people accessed a food bank this year were due to food costs, low provincial social assistance rates, and housing costs.

Seventeen per cent of food bank clients report employment as their main source of income, compared to 12 per cent in 2019. 

A total of 10.4 per cent of those accessing the Orangeville Food Bank list employment as their primary source of income.

At the Orangeville Food Bank, 37 per cent of those accessing food are children compared to 33 per cent nationally.

In addition to the primary objective of gathering 100,000 pounds of food, the Orangeville Food Bank is thrilled to announce the High Five Turkey Drive, scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 25th. This special event aims to collect 600 turkeys to ensure festive holiday meals for all food bank clients in December.

The Orangeville Food Bank is a not-for-profit organization that provides emergency food and supplies to 1,400 people per month. The food bank is currently seeing an increase of over 50 per cent compared to this time last year.

The Orangeville Food Bank is supported by approximately 180 volunteers and relies on food and monetary donations from our community. The food bank believes in providing its users with dignity and uses a points-based shopping system where patrons choose their own food. 

The Orangeville Food Bank is a member of Feed Ontario, one of the organizations within the Food Banks Canada Network.

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