Kanata Food Cupboard sees increase in demand as food, household costs rise
The Kanata Food Cupboard is reporting a steep increase in the number of families reaching out for assistance through the first two weeks of January, as food prices and household costs continue to increase.
"Just the first two weeks of January, compared to January last year, we saw 24 per cent more families representing 22 per cent more individuals, including children, and 89 per cent more new families," said Kaitlyn Lalonde, client and community outreach coordinator at the Kanata Food Cupboard.
"We do serve a rather high volume of families that are new to Canada or find themselves in transitional housing."
Lalonde adds the Kanata Food Cupboard sees several new families a day reaching out for assistance.
A poll from the Angus Reid Institute, released on Friday, showed that 57 per cent of Canadians reported having a difficult time feeding their family recently, up from 36 per cent in 2019.
Statistics Canada reported on Wednesday that Canada's inflation rate in December was the highest since 1991, at 4.8 per cent. Items that saw large year-over-year increases in prices between December 2020 and December 2021 included gasoline, sugar, bacon, white sugar and cooking oil.
Lalonde says client numbers are increasing, and the percentage of new families reaching out to the Kanata Food Cupboard for help each month is "startlingly increasing" as costs for food, gasoline and household essentials increase.
"They're doing the same as you; they're going to grocery stores, they're looking for the items that are on sale or that they can price match and, unfortunately, that's just not available for them," said Lalonde during an interview with Newstalk 580 CFRA's Ottawa Now with Kristy Cameron on Friday.
"And if they can afford their food, the cost of everything else in their household is going up as well so there's not a leeway for them to really make ends meat."
Lalonde says families also report a lack of winter jackets and boots, as temperatures dip into the -20C range this month.
"The number of families reaching out for assistance with winter basics this year has been astronomical," said Lalonde.
The Kanata Food Cupboard is open for client pickups and deliveries five days a week.
To donate, visit the Kanata Food Cupboard website.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.