JOHN JANTAK
The 1019 Report

Rising food costs and higher demand for food baskets since the start of the pandemic has resulted in a 300-per-cent increase in the number of residents using the services at La Source d’Entraide in St. Lazare.

“We’ve had an average of two to three more requests for assistance each month since 2019 and more families are seeking food assistance,” said Andrée-Anne Lavigne, director-general of La Source d’Entraide.

“It’s difficult because everything costs so much,” Lavigne said. “Some families may have three, four or five kids. So for them, the food baskets make a huge difference.”

The demand for Christmas baskets has also increased.

“We’ve had a 150-per-cent increase since last year,” she said, referring to the holiday food baskets the centre prepares. “There’s a lot of requests from more families. Before we had many single persons and couples.”

The demand for food baskets in Vaudreuil-Dorion has also seen an uptick, with The Dorion Dream Centre reporting a 25-per-cent increase this year compared with last year.

The centre distributed about $540,000 worth of food from January to November this year – representing 4,507 boxes, totalling 448,680 kilograms of food.

“It’s keeping us on our toes,” said Pete Vasiliev, manager of the Dorion Dream Centre.

“Prices are a lot higher these days,” he said. “We help single parents and the working poor who have a job but can’t make ends meet. For them, food is way too expensive.”

About 120 families are receiving food assistance every week form the centre, he said, which includes about 300 adults and 120 children.

“We’re stable right now, but that’s no guarantee that we’ll be able to continue at this pace,” Vasiliev said. The Dorion Dream Centre is the only food bank in the region that provides food baskets on a weekly basis.

Demand for help in Hudson is stable, said Carol Laws, founder of Le Pont Bridging.

The organization, founded in 1996, provides food baskets to about 40 families on a monthly basis, the most it has ever had to help.

All types of people, from single parents, to the elderly and younger people who are struggling to make ends meet, use the food bank, she said.

“We help them once a month,” Laws said. “They’re from all types of income levels. We also provide help to surrounding communities when the CLSC calls us.”

“We’re also the only food bank that provides perishables,” she added. “When there’s children in the family, we’re able to get them milk, fresh vegetables and fruit.”