Food insecurity in the region appears to be spiking during the state of emergency, with York Region Food Bank seeing a 50 per cent increase in first-time food bank users since it began.
That figure is expected to increase as more people are impacted by job losses, reduced income or illness, according to a news release.
"When the first pandemic wave hit, it was a bit chaotic. We had never experienced this before, and we didn't know what to expect. As the days went by and things started to look worse, there was a definite increase across our network of the number of people experiencing hunger," Alex Bilotta, the food bank's founder and CEO, said.
Bilotta said residents were very generous during this past holiday season, but the food bank needs more donations of food and money, as well as people willing to give their time to host food drives or volunteer.
"We will do our best to continue to source, collect, and deliver as much fresh and nutritious foods as possible throughout the region, but we need the support of our communities to do so. Consider getting involved with (us) to help us continue to battle hunger and help those suffering the most in this pandemic," he said.
Last year, the food bank's network provided 129,267 food visits and delivered food to 23,445 individuals and 7,961 families. To deliver $8 million worth of donations throughout its network of frontline organizations, including the Newmarket Food Pantry, and to stay ahead of the rising tide of hunger, said Bilotta, they had to get creative.
"We had to think on our feet and come up with a solution to fight back against the rising numbers of food insecurity, so we started our home delivery program, which is a service that has been relied upon heavily throughout the lockdowns," he said.
Anyone interested in helping out can sign up on the food bank's website.