As the country, and city, move closer to a return to 'normal,' issues surrounding food access are not leaving anytime soon.
Peter Gill is a volunteer at the Chalmers Community Services Centre. He said the need for food in this community is greater now than it was two years ago.
“We’ve seen an increase in demand, largely driven by a couple of things. One, the cost of housing in Guelph, and people’s work situations are precarious, and now, we’re faced with some pretty significant inflation too, and buying fresh produce is becoming expensive,” said Gill.
When Chalmers remained open during the pandemic to distribute fresh food and other supplies, Gill mentions many people who came to access their services were also working.
“It’s not like these people are unemployed. I think 60 per cent of the people who come to us are employed, that’s a pretty high number,” said Gill, adding some who came to Chalmers were working more than one job.
“I think people don’t understand that a lot of folks are just one missed pay cheque away from accessing places like Chalmers. We hear it quite often that, ‘I wasn’t working this month, and I had to buy my kids winter boots, and I had a big dental bill,’ or something like that, you know? And all of a sudden, they’re kind of behind the eight ball.”
Looking to raise more awareness on the issue of hunger, Chalmers is teaming up with Meridian Credit Union and the Guelph Storm in a new event called Shut Out Hunger.
The aim of the event is to collect canned food donations and raise money through touque sales, and the 50/50 draw, to support those in need of food. The event will take place during the Guelph Storm game on March 25th. All proceeds from game tickets purchased at local Meridian Credit Union branches will go to Chalmers.
“I think awareness is really the key to this, making people aware that these are potentially your neighbours," said Gill about fighting food insecurity.
He adds it was great that Chalmers could pair up with the Guelph Storm for the event, and hopes it can become a regular event in the future.
“They (The Guelph Storm) recognize that there are people in our city that struggle with food scarcity,” he said.
Along with non-perishable food items, Chalmers will also be accepting diapers during the event. Gill said Chalmers gives out hundreds and hundreds of diapers each week.
“To buy a fairly large bulk package of diapers is very expensive, it’s 30 to 40 dollars,” said Gill. “For young families, and we do have a lot of people with young families, diapers are a significant part of a budget.”
For those who won’t be able to attend the game, Gill adds Chalmers is continuing to accept donations online, or fresh food donations in person.
“Just regular folks, they come downtown, or to the west end, and they drop off a dozen eggs or a couple of things of peanut butter,” said Gill, “Those are the ways to do it.”
