More users, higher costs: Montreal-area food bank says donations critical as families battle inflation
Inflation and soaring food costs have many Quebec families feeling the pinch, and the head of one food bank says demand has increased by nearly 40 per cent in 2022.
According to Suzanne Scarrow, executive director of the West Island Mission (WIM), there's a struggle to keep up inventory.
"We’ve registered over 70 families since May alone," she told CTV News.
These days, the WIM is seeing more young families and a lot more seniors.
"Seniors are typically able to budget themselves very well based on their pension and fixed income, but now going into the grocery store, it’s a whole different story," Scarrow explained.
Cherry Dunn says she and her husband are barely making ends meet.
"I’m horrified at how fast everything is going up. I mean, just your normal, everyday stuff, like your eggs, your bread -- it’s prohibitively expensive," she said.
The average grocery bill is up nearly 11 per cent since last year. Bakery prices went up by more than 13 per cent, while the cost of edible fats and oils went up by nearly 28 per cent.
All of this means higher costs for food banks as well.
The WIM relies on food donations as well as its own produce from over 100 gardens. But some foods, like milk and eggs, are purchased by the organization.
"I would encourage people, when they're in the grocery store, to add a little extra in their basket if they're able to do that, or go online and donate," said Scarrow. "Cash over cans makes a huge difference, operations costs are just rising and we have to make sure we can keep the door open."
"If I had not had the food bank, we would have had to have left our home and gone into a shelter."
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.
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.
'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."
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
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.