Ottawa Food Bank reducing food sent to agencies because of mounting costs

Food bank's mounting costs

Photo: The Canadian Press

Pallets of non-perishable food, a quantity estimated to last only a month, are seen in the shipping room at the Ottawa Food Bank warehouse in Ottawa is seen on Thursday, April 23, 2020. 

The Ottawa Food Bank says it will reduce the amount of food it provides to programs within its network as it copes with increasing costs and growing demand for its services.

The food bank's CEO Rachael Wilson says 98 programs will receive between 20 and 50 per cent less food than they have in past years.

Wilson positioned the move as necessary because rising costs have left the organization unable to purchase the same amount of food as before.

Yet she says food bank usage is at an all-time high in Ottawa, with the number of visits to the organization increasing by more than 90 per cent since 2019.

She estimates 40 per cent of food banks in her organization's network reported turning people away on a weekly basis due to capacity last year.

The Ottawa Food Bank distributes more than 4.4 million kilograms of food from its Bantree Street warehouse each year and says it receives 556,000 visits for support annually.