It could happen to any one of us . . . food insecurity . . . "the condition of not having access to sufficient food or food of adequate quality to meet one's basic needs. It sounds like it shouldn't happen in a G7 country like Canada, but with higher interest rates impacting mortgages and car loans, and the cost of food rising, it's hard for many people to make ends meet.
As a local service club, Rotary Cambridge Sunset wanted to hear firsthand from Cambridge Food Bank Executive Director Dianne McLeod and invited her to join us at our meeting.
She shared that a recent 2022 Hunger Report showed that even people who are employed full time, as the primary income in a household, make up 8.5 per cent of food bank users. A further 10.8 per cent are employed part time.
Dianne reported that there has been an 88 per cent increase from 2021due to the cost of living expenses -- rent and food increasing dramatically.
There are more than 2,500 of our neighbours in Cambridge who benefit from the monthly food hamper program. And the agency has a huge variety of programs that not only help feed people but it helps to build community and resilience.
Members of Rotary Cambridge Sunset contributed with a food donation and cash/grocery certificates gift to Cambridge Food Bank. Thanks to Dianne for being our guest speaker and for the work she and her team at CFB do to help our community.
For more information about helping the Cambridge Food Bank or volunteering see www.cambridgefoodbank.org
