Nearly 9 in 10 (89%) non-profits across Second Harvest’s network saw an increase in demand for food over the past year, up from 87% the year before.
This growing demand is widening the gap between the need for food support in communities and the resources available tomeet it. Many organizations are struggling to keep pace.
One in three (33%) has a waitlist for support, while 35% have had to turn people away due to limited food or resources.
Reaching community organizations beyond the federal, provincial or regional food bank network
Nearly half (49%) of the organizations surveyed do not access food or other supports through the federal, provincial or regional food bank network. They are part of a broad ecosystem of community organizations helping people access food and other essential services, such as housing, health and education.
This massive scale was revealed in Second Harvest’s research five years ago “Canada’s Invisible Food Network”: Canada has four times more charitable food providers than grocery stores.
Food rescue helps fill an important gap.
On average, 36% of the food available at surveyed organizations comes from Second Harvest, making rescued food a significant part of their supply.
Across Canada, 91% of organizations say Second Harvest helps them offer more food, while 80% say it helps them provide more healthy and nutritious food.
Rescued food creates a ripple effect as it moves through the community. On average, food received from Second Harvest is shared with 15 other non-profits, supporting 11,865 additional organizations.
For more information about the survey, visit Ipsos.
The growing demand for food, combined with rising food prices and limited resources, affects our ability to fully meet the needs of our community. We rely heavily on donated food to keep our program running, and without this support, many of our participants would struggle to access enough healthy and nutritious food.
Our organization supports individuals and families experiencing food insecurity, including seniors, unhoused, low-income households, people with disabilities, individuals experiencing unemployment or underemployment and those facing unexpected financial hardships. Growing demand, rising food cost and limited resources affect our ability to fully meet the needs of everyone we serve.
We have programs available for people who are 18+ and identify as living with a mental illness. We provided supported employment, wrap around services and recreational programs. Over 50% are living on income assistance and find it difficult to make ends meet. With funding being difficult to access, food we can access through Second Harvest is used to help people with their food scarcity. We will also use the food donated for our rec programs to help us keep our costs down.
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