Compared to last post-pandemic year
MANITOULIN—Manitoulin Family Resources (MFR) commissioned a Manitoulin Hunger Report, based on numbers from March 31, 2022 to April 1, 2023, and the analysis shows a stark increase. Over that time, the MFR food bank served a total of 4,289 individuals (or 1,569 households)—a 37 percent increase over 2018-2019, the last full pre-pandemic year.
The report notes that among those 1,569 households who visited the food bank, 28 percent were there for the first time. The report acknowledges that there are other hunger relief initiatives on Manitoulin, but that this focused only on the MFR food bank in Mindemoya.
Households residing on one of the six First Nation communities on Manitoulin made up 68 percent of all visitors during the report time period. “This vast overrepresentation can be linked back to Canada’s history of colonization and the ongoing impacts of separation from Indigenous culture,” the report states.
The report points to the fact that the communities least represented among food bank visitors were those located furthest away from the food bank, “likely a result of the inability to afford travel costs and the limited public transportation options.”
The community by community breakdown, from most visitors to least, is as follows: M’Chigeeng, 27.2 percent; Wiikwemkoong, 23.4 percent; Mindemoya, 8.9 percent; Sheguiandah First Nation, 6.9 percent; Gore Bay, 6.6 percent; Little Current, 5.1 percent; Providence Bay, 2.0 percent; Manitowaning, 1.8 percent; Tehkummah, 1.8 percent; Spring Bay, 1.5 percent; Zhiibaahaasing, 0.8 percent; Evansville, 0.8 percent; Sheshegwaning, 0.5 percent; Kagawong, 0.3 percent; Meldrum Bay, 0.3 percent; Sandfield, 0.3 percent; and outside of Manitoulin, 3.1 percent.
The average ages of those using the food bank is: 0 to six years, 15.9 percent; seven to 13 years, 17.5 percent; 14-17 years, 6.4 percent; 18-24 years, 9.2 percent; 25-35 years, 18.1 percent; 36-50 years, 16 percent; 51-59 years, 8.5 percent; and 60 plus years, 8.4 percent.
Of the food bank visitors, 39.9 percent claimed Ontario Works; 23.7 percent used the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP); 8.7 percent had no income; 6.2 percent claimed ‘other’ as an income; five percent utilized the Child Tax Benefit; four percent were on Employment Insurance; 3.7 percent were employed part-time; 3. 1 percent of visitors claimed Old Age Security; 2.5 percent had some form of pension; 2.3 percent were employed full-time; 0.4 percent claimed the Canada Pension Plan; 0.4 percent received child support; 0.2 percent had income through student loans; 0.2 percent received spousal/family support; and 0.2 percent claimed a private disability pension.
The report points to the COVID-19 pandemic and inflation as some of the reasons food bank use has seen such growth. By the fall of 2022, the cost of food on grocery store shelves had risen by 10 percent, and the number of first-time food bank users followed suit with a rise in numbers.
The report also points to the housing crisis. According to the provincial Hunger Report, in September of 2022, landlords of vacant rental units in Ontario were charging 18.4 percent more for rent than the year before.
“Watching the value of their homes increase, many landlords across the province saw this as an opportunity to sell their rented homes for profit,” the report states. “With an already limited supply of rental units on Manitoulin Island, finding affordable housing options became increasingly difficult for those needing to relocate. Low-income households priced out of the market and who sought subsidized housing were hit with the reality that they could be waiting up to five years for an apartment. In conversations with these families, feelings of defeat and hopelessness were not uncommon.”
The Manitoulin Hunger Report also notes the gaining popularity of short-term accommodation rentals, like Airbnbs, by landlords over the traditional long-term lease agreement. “As a result of these trends, many households have been forced to move back in with parents, sleep on friends’ couches or live in seasonal trailers in an effort to keep a roof over their head.”
Undoubtedly the statistics would be much higher for food bank use too but for the associated pitfalls that often come with rural living: poverty (for myriad reasons), a lack of public transportation, stigma surrounding food bank use, precarious employment, addiction and the opioid crisis and an inadequate social safety net.
The Expositor will explore these topics further in subsequent articles on the Manitoulin Hunger Report.
