Huron County food bank usage reaches new heights

It’s not the kind of record folks at the Huron County Food Distribution Centre wanted to break, but it’s one they knew was coming.

“We sent out over a million pounds of food last year. That’s basically doubled from just a few years ago. Certainly our budget has increased, and so has the budgets for the food banks we serve,” says Huron County Food Distribution Centre General Manager, Mary Ellen Zielman.

The Huron County Food Distribution Centre(HCFDC) sources and delivers food to Huron County’s food banks and aid agencies. There were a handful of each when they started in 2008, now there’s 10 food banks and 15 aid agencies that rely on their weekly and monthly deliveries. Food bank usage jumped 19% last year, with 21,300 visits, and another 7300 visits to the distribution centre’s mobile food banks.

We’ve just been able to make more food contacts to bring it in. I mean our grocery budget is very high every month, so any food we can get donated is bonus,” says Zielman.Huron County Food Distribution Centre near Exeter, Ont., on Feb.14, 2024. (Scott Miller/CTV News London)

A few years ago, HCFDC spent $15,000 a month on food. Now they spend $35,000 a month. At the North Huron Food Share in Wingham, the monthly food budget was $5000 a month in 2013, now it’s more than $17,000 each month. A similar story in Seaforth, where food bank use is up 14% over last year.

“Last year we spent $60,000(for the entire year). In 2022, it was $47000, so you can see that increase there. We’ll see what happens this year, but reality is it’ll likely be $60,000 plus,” says Gordon Franklin, General Manager of Seaforth’s Food Bank.

So far, donations have kept pace, but Franklin says this rate of increase for Huron County’s food banks, simply isn’t sustainable.

“It’s a trend that everyone would like to see reverse, but it is what it, and we’re here to do what we can for them,” he says.

You can learn more about the skyrocketing demand for food banks in Huron County by visiting www.huroncountyfoodbank.org.