NEWS RELEASE
FOOD BANK OF YORK REGION
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On Dec. 31, 2021, the Food Bank of York Region’s (FBYR) Covid-19 Emergency Home Delivery program officially ended. One month later, and the calls and emails have been constant from people asking when will the program be restarted.
“The demand for this program has become overwhelming, beyond the initial need brought on by the pandemic when we first launched the home delivery program as an emergency measure in May 2020,” explains Alex Bilotta, Founder and CEO of the Food Bank of York Region. “This increase in demand from people struggling with food security, who are not able to access food banks, has led us to consider establishing the home delivery program as a permanent service, if we can keep it funded.”
The official restart of the program will be Monday, Feb. 14 with recently granted funding from the Regional Municipality of York and run for six months. Residents seeking the support of this service can apply online at fbyr.ca/covid-19-order-form/ once every two weeks.
In a recently conducted survey by the FBYR, 300 clients of the previous home delivery program gave feedback on the service and how it’s become an essential part of their lives and overall well-being.
One client commented, “Being disabled and having to live on a very low income, l really needed the Food Bank of York Region to help and support to fill my grocery needs. l and many other people who need this Food Bank are desperately hoping that they will receive the funding they need and require to carry-on with a much-needed home delivery service. They can help so many people survive and not have to suffer without food at such a bad time.”
Another program client explains, “There are no other food banks that deliver within my area. I am disabled and not able to commute long distances. I am also self-isolating as a household member has cancer and ongoing treatments and I cannot expose them. York Region needs to make it a regular permanent program. So, people like me can depend on it instead of worrying if its going to disappear.”
Previously, the home delivery program had been funded and re-extended by multiple external funding sources such as the Regional Municipality of York, and United Way Greater Toronto. The fact that the program has been repeatedly extended, and the demand for the service has risen, speaks volumes to the underlying food insecurity issues in York Region.
The home delivery program provides a critical service for many people needing food assistance, who are unable to access a food bank or meal program, such as seniors, persons with disabilities, or families with small children. Many of these clients have commented that without this service, they would have no where to go to access their food and must forego their meals.
“I am so grateful for this service as without it, I would go hungry and malnourished,” explains an anonymous client. “Being single, 72 years old, living alone and no family, I can’t access a food bank or meal program on my own without great difficulty.”
A mother who uses the program stated, “As a single mom of 4 boys, this service has helped my family tremendously. I don’t have to worry about providing healthy meals for my boys and there’s no judgment. I can maintain my confidentiality and not feel embarrassed for having this need for support.”
In 2021, the FBYR’s home delivery program alone served 5.656 unique individuals across 1,853 households. Since 2018, the number of people accessing food bank programs and services in York Region has increased by 42% and the Covid-19 pandemic saw an increase of first-time food bank users across the FBYR’s network by 50 per cent in 2020.
For more information on the FBYR, its programs and ways to give, please visit www.fbyr.ca/donate today.
The Food Bank of York Region serves as a regional food collection and distribution centre and mobile food pantry for a network of 75+ social service agencies, food pantries, and community organizations. The network provides meals and food in their programs in the nine municipalities of York Region, serving 22,000+ individuals in 7,000+ households.
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