I support food drives and food banks. I always have and always will. But tonight I heard something that really scared me.
While watching TV, I saw a commercial for the Toronto food drive on Global TV and Leslie Roberts appeared in a community appeal announcement and he said that over 900,000 people used foodbanks in the GTA last year.
Nine Hundred Thousand people. That’s a 9 with five zero’s.
The total population of the GTA is approximately 5.7 Million people. If we reduce this number by the number of people that are given three squares a day such as hospital patients, group and retirement home patients and prisoners, we can probably knock this number down to 5.4 Million or so.
So out of these 5.4 million, 900,000 or about 16.6% of Torontonians had refrigerators and cupboards so bare that that they needed to go get a food donation to stay alive. Thats 1 in 6 people. Thats 1 in 6 families.
Is it me or is this a sign that something is wrong with Toronto. Is the city that broke(n)?
I am finding it hard to believe this number is accurate.
Comments?
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Maybe this number includes the number of people who donated?
Or maybe statistics are inaccurate when you are looking for a certain answer in your research.
Nevertheless, we do need more investment in our cities.
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Fraser, I just watched the local Ottawa news and the Ottawa food bank is on a drive because their stores are very low. In the news piece, Leigh Chapple said that their are 40,000 Ottawa residents that used the foodbank.
40,000 out of a million people. is only 4%, a quarter of the rate at which Toronto uses foodbanks. Now I KNOW something is wrong either with the stats Global TV reported or with Toronto’s foodbank abuse.
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I think it’s food-bank abuse….I knew of someone who used the foodbank, because she didn’t have money for food…..clothing yes, but not food….
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Its really quite an outrageous statement – we have crunched the numbers at work and found them incredible –but its such a sensitive issue no one will say anything – which ignores the fact that there is a problem – news??
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Here is my take: socialists in Toronto double the real number so they can whine for even more tax dollars to pay themselves and their friends.
Toronto’s number is high due to immigrants and street people, crack heads etc.
But immigrants are always a good deal for Canada… they cried out loud!!
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I watched the news on TV and it amazed me that people actually returned food and bitched that it didn’t suit their cultural diets.
Wow , maybe a few weeks of eating out of back alley trash cans might make them a bit more humble to accept the food and Shut the *uck up , there’s no law to stop you from swapping items with a neighbour or friend that needs certain items and can give you what they don’t need.
Jack Layton has fooled people into believing that Canada is this filthy rich Nation where anyone can plop their butt in canada and be catered to by layers upon layers of Social programs which BTW eat up close to 85% of the money in salaries and benefits for the workers.
Just ask David Miller , he’s doubled the Cities deficit in each budget and now claims his mandate is to bitch to the feds because Toronto gives more to Ottawa then we get back in transfers, Gee , no shit sherlock , Toronto property-Taxes keep going up while services drop and user fees are added, no need to educate me about giving a wad of money to a Politician and not geting back a fraction of it in actual Services .
Miller and McGuinty still don’t get it , Harpers too smart to bail-out the brother with a spending addiction who will just spend more money if they get it, the monkey on their backs is the Unions and Liberal buddies that get the rich salaries and commit fraud with expense accounts and when caught they quit and get 3 times their salary for not working because of a Package and golden parachute.
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I expect the 900,000 figure refers to the number of individual visits to the food banks–it is logical that one individual would go to the bank more than once over the course of the year so the actual number of clients would be substantially less.
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Ray (#7) that was my initial thought, but one would think foodbanks have a system to track people coming in and out to prevent abuse. And if so, why would Ottawa only have 40,000 people use foodbanks? 1/4 the per capita number Toronto has.
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_Perhaps it’s like the oft-stated figure of the TTC (Toronto Transit) serving 4 Billion riders within its lifetime.
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I am thinking the same as #7 (Ray). If I went once a week, I’d be counted 52 times. It is possible they don’t have a ‘registration’ system. Hate to say it…but socialism opens it self up for a lot of abuse.And it is not politically correct to question if they are spending $$ on cigs or booze or worse.
I gladly give when I know there is a definite need….and gratitude.
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#6, I find that ridiculous too. Every Christmas my family hooks up with an inner city Toronto family and buys Christmas gifts for their children so they can afford food etc. at this time. So they send us a wish list saying what their kids want. I was thinking you know…a jacket, gloves, simple children’s toys, books perhaps. This year’s list which just arrived contained a list of XBOX 360 games that the kids are just dying to play. I found this a little ridiculous. We don’t own an XBOX 360, and I think $60 can be a little better spent on people who aren’t supposed to be able to afford Christmas gifts. Maybe instead of buying that XBOX 360 (the the big screen HD-TV that goes with it…) they can buy food and not go to the food bank? I don’t know the people’s exact situation so I’m not going to accuse them of anything or cut off the help, but I just found that interesting.
Another incident happened last year here at Queen’s where I study. A friend of mine and I were going to our local Quizno’s sub for a delicious toasted sandwich, and we see a homeless man looking particularly emaciated. Instead of handing him money that could go anywhere, we offer to buy him a sub. He doesn’t make any particular requests, as he is very happy just to be eating. When we return with the subs, he thanks us kindly, and takes a bite of his, only to find that it contains mayonnaise. Now, aside from the insult to those who can’t eat a sandwich without mayonnaise…think about this. He wouldn’t be eating if it wasn’t for us, beggars can’t be choosers champ. We told him to get some napkins inside and scrape it off.
My point in all this rambling is that simple handouts are probably not the solution long-term, and that 900,000 may even be true given the nature of some of these people in Toronto.
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Yes #7, I think they take 900,000 visits and misrepresent it as 900,000 PEOPLE using the foodbank. I think the foodbank website also outrageously claims that “45% of adults went hungry last week”. ya, I went hungry twice last week so big deal. The foodbanks are far-left wing organizations who want us all to think everything is terrible and everyone is suffering and to feel guilty that we are not.
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Well I sent an email to the Canadian Association of Foodbanks asking them about this statistic and I also included a question about tracking if a person comes in do they confirm they are requiring the services or if it is an honour system. I also asked them if they tracked how often a specific person comes in to minimize abuss.
Five bucks says I don’t get any real information back.
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I know it sounds callous to say, but food banks are a self-fulfilling prophecy of sorts.
Before the wide-spread existance of the food bank industry, we did not see daily news reports of thousands, or millions perishing of hunger. I wonder why.
As soon as the mollycoddlers, and so-called progressives jumped into their low 6 figure salaried jobs as ‘directors’ of the food bank industry, lo and behold, millions use them, and more amd more handouts are required.
I’m always reminded of the old saw, “build it and they will come.” Ripley? PT Barnum?
Go to ANY food bank location, see the late model autos pull up for the handout that the recipient simply would die without. Observe the brand of tailor-made cigarette they smoke. Stick with almost any one of the starving needy, see what bars they drink in.
Simply put, food banks serve to allow people to spend money on non-essentials, rather than having to take personal responsibility to feed themselves.
Sad, but true. Give us more Big Brother! Give us more taxation! There are still millions having to struggle along, and care for themselves, instead of living off the largesse of the nanny-state!
Cheers! I’m off to the skids for a free meal. The cost? The time you spend waiting in line to be seated!
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I agree with #7 and #14, 900,000 is over the top.
There is a poverty industry in this province – food banks, social workers, tenants’ advocates, developers of crappy social housing projects and on and on.
I personally would not go to a food bank – I’d rather get a job in a restaurant than do that. I was young with nothing once myself, so I know what it’s like to be up the creek.
These socialist types had best remember that the successful parasite doesn’t kill the host. I don’t think anyone minds paying for programs and to help those who are down and out but after awhile all this stuff gets old. There aren’t that many people who can’t work, There are help wanted signs everywhere.
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Advocates love to throw big numbers, especially those obtained through statistics, for shock effect. Take 900,000 and divide it by 365 (some people who eat at foodbanks every day) and suddenly, it doesn’t look so imposing. In case you were wondering, the answer is 2465.75. Aren’t statistics fun?
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Let’s remember that foodbanks were set up by the unions to try and humiliate Brian Mulroney. Therefore they are poltical tools to begin with.
Having worked with a food bank I can tell you with 100% certainty that you will find: 1) 80% repeat users on a monthly basis (usually before the welfare cheques are mailed; 2) Anyone who vists the place to get information is classified as having been helped although they never take any food away; 3) they are part of the poverty industry that needs to manufacture and perpetuate a crisis to justify their existence and the funds they get.
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Where is the surprise? After watching politicians argue like a bunch of grade 5 spoiled brats and the steady moral decay of equality in Canada is this a surprise? When I say equality, I mean all people are equal, explain 5.1B to Quebec and 9.1 to other nations? Kelowna accord was more like pigs fighting at the trough.
People have conceded to accept this, I am (tax) poor and tolerant, but I Am Canadian!
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I don’t know how food banks work now, but about 15 years ago, (when I was still trying to work out a marriage to a gambling addict who had gambled away everything we had, including grocery and rent money), I was desperate enough to consider going to a food bank for some groceries to tide us over. My intention was that it would just be for “one time”, so I called to get information on what I needed to do. I was told that I would need to bring my social insurance number, any paystubs, or welfare cheque stubbs, and identification. Once I found out what they needed, I was too embarrassed to actually go through with it. I think I might have gone if it were anonymous, but I sure didn’t want everyone in the world to know I was that desperate.
Can you say “Pride” and “Dignity”??
I always have to shake my head at people who think they are smarter than everyone else because they are getting “free” stuff from the government, or the insurance company, or whatever. They seem so proud of themselves when they tell you that they have outsmarted the insurance company by faking a back injury, and they never have to work again.
Personally, I’m proud that I have a job and that I can take care of myself.
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Hold your head high, Lady. You deserve to do so!
Most of the foodbanks don’t insist on proof one is destitute. I guess they figure if you’re desperate enough to seek their help, you’re hurting. Unfortunately, this overlooks the nature of some people who figure if something is there for free, you should take it regardless of whether you need it or not.
I was dropping bottles off at the local bottle depot which is next to a food bank. As I was loading empties into boxes, I noticed a woman park a newer Mercedes next to me. She walked into the foodbank. I took my bottles in and there was a bit of a wait so when I left, I got to see her come back out carrying two bags of groceries which she dropped into the trunk of the Mercedes. I couldn’t resist so I asked if the Mercedes was hers. She said it was. I asked her a couple of questions about the car (yes, it had leather seats, it was comfortable on the highway, it gets decent gas mileage) and then I asked why she needed to go to a foodbank. Her face twisted into a knot and she barked “It’s none of your business!” then she got into her Mercedes, slammed the door and sped away.
I’m pretty sure she’s not the only one who uses that foodbank.
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#14 you hit the nail on the head. I do not know what the percentage would be many food bank users go there so they can use their money cigarettes, booze etc… In the community I am from there is a very active food bank. If you drive around town 75% of the older houses have a satellite attached to them. There is at least $30/month going to non-essential services rather than food on the table.
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Mighr have something to do with giving away, for free, a valuable item . . . food.
How many people NEED the food bank vs how many people avail themselves of the service so they can spend their money elsewhere ??
Wonder what would happen if I set up a “Gas bank” for free gas for your car ??
OR maybe if I set up a “Money bank” and gave away free cash.
The lineups would be very long me thinks.
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If you are serious in your desire to understand foodbanks, I suggest you actually go to one as a client.
Firstly, anyone can go there to get food. You will only be asked for your address (as foodbanks are specific to where you live). If you are cunning, you concoct a story about need and want and then, having been approved, you get a few bags of food.
Secondly, hang out with some people who go to food banks on a regular basis. It is the widely held belief that a) the best food is skimmed by the foodbank staff to be sold and b) there is a circle of foodbank users who just harvest food to be retailed in their own grocery stores.
You can do your own research. You do not have to believe me. But, when I was a frequent user of my local foodbank, this is what I saw. I was a rewarding research. Maybe we could set up a little research project? I live in toronto, as does the Mayor, so it would be a good project.
Are you game?