[URBAN NOTE] "Inner-Suburban Food Bank Use Soars"

[rfmcdonald]

Torontoist's Catherine MacIntyre reports on growing use of food banks in Toronto.

Diane Clarke is a single mother of four, living in North Etobicoke. In April 2014, she had to leave her job as a social worker to take care of her oldest daughter, who had become sick. Her $4,000 monthly income was cut down to $1,380; after paying rent, Clarke had less than $200 left over to cover her family’s cost of living. Her small savings quickly dried up, and after three weeks without work, she ran out of food.

“I was at rock bottom,” says Clarke. “Here I am out of work, I have no money, I don’t know what to do.”

That’s when she called North York Harvest food bank. “They were just closing the doors and I started explaining that I really need bread and milk for my kids,” she says. “They realized my need at that moment and they said, ‘you know what, come.’”

For the past year and a half, Clarke has been visiting the food bank—a four bus-ride commute—once or twice per month, each time stocking up on four days’ worth of food for her and her kids.

According to a recent report by The Daily Bread Food Bank, a network of food banks across the city, Clarke is among a growing demographic of Torontonians who rely on food banks to survive.