Kosher food banks across the country say the last few months have been unprecedented as growing numbers of people turn to them looking for help while food prices soar and wages fail to keep up.

Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver food banks all report that they are stretched ever thinner—and, in some cases, they have had no choice but to put people on waitlists, for the first time in their history.

Atop of the website for Toronto’s kosher food bank, Chasdei Kaduri, is a note in bold letters, capitalized and underlined: “We are facing a very high volume of applications for assistance. If you are seeking assistance, please be patient as we work on increasing our capacity and responding to all.”

Chasdei Kaduri now serves 4,000 people a month—up from 3,000 before COVID—said executive director Jonathan Tebeka. It has become the largest food bank in York Region, the sprawling suburban area just north of Toronto.

“The last three or four months we’re seeing a very, very big uptick—even more than during COVID,” Tebeka said. “That’s because a number of things that came together all at once: Inflation, rising costs, rents. Everything else that came packaged during COVID is now unravelling, There’s no government programs any more. It’s very difficult.”

Meanwhile, the organization is facing new challenges. Donations of both money and food soared as people were motivated by the crisis to help those less fortunate at the peak of the pandemic. But as life returns to a new normal, donations have dried up.

At the same time, food distributors are reserving stock for the big chain stores and setting aside less for smaller purchasers like food banks.

For now, Chasdei Kaduri has been able to purchase from supermarkets at competitive prices, Tebeka said.

Launched about a decade ago by Tebeka’s mother—who knew a few hungry families in the neighbourhood—the food bank is entirely volunteer run. No one, including the executive director and the social workers assessing the claims, takes a salary.

People order what they need online and the groceries are quietly deposited on their doorstep, to maintain confidentiality.

But where it once took about a week to assess potential client needs, it can now take a month.

“It’s longer than we would hope it to be. When someone needs help, and it’s something like food, it’s a very urgent matter,” Tebeka said. “But at same time, people need to understand our help is not one time. We do need to do our due diligence.” 

The pressures besetting Chasdei Kaduri are not unique, nor are they likely to let up any time soon.

Canada’s Food Price Report 2023 predicts a 5 percent to 7 percent price increase in food prices in 2023. The increase comes on top of a 10 percent rise in 2022.

The forecast prepared by several Canadian universities, estimates that a family of four will spend $1,065 more on food next year.

Pressures are being felt by food banks across the country.  Visits to food banks are up by 15 percent this year from 2021 and have grown by 35 percent since 2019, according to Hunger Counts 2022, a survey of 4,700 food banks.

In Montreal, where the Mada Community Centre is now in its 30th year providing meals and groceries, demand has gone up by 25 percent this year, said Pamela Lecker, director of food services.

 About 1,800 boxes of cooked meals (16,200 meals) are distributed weekly. Families can also order a box of groceries, about 5,000 boxes are distributed monthly.

At Rosh Hashanah, the centre distributed 20 percent more food boxes than usual, which went primarily to larger families struggling to make ends meet.

But even though demand in Montreal is growing, the agency is now starting to expand to Ottawa, after speaking with rabbis about the need for food assistance, Lecker said.

New immigrants (including from Ukraine), students and people who lost jobs during COVID and haven’t found work again, all need help, in ways they didn’t before, Lecker said.

The meal program which was started during COVID, mainly for seniors who were afraid to go out and shop or who were socially isolated, has also continued to grow.

The increased demand has put more emphasis than ever on fundraising, Lecker said, “We reach out to our community for more and more funding and we get creative to find donors who are willing to help us, because the need is so great.”

In Vancouver, the demand is stretching Jewish Food Services to the bursting point. In the last five months, about three new families are looking for food assistance every week, as many as 40 or 50 people a month, says Stacy Friedman, director of food security for the agency.

The JFS Grocery Program (formerly known as the Jewish Food Bank) serves 950 people. Another 700 to 800 receive kosher meals and food vouchers.

The grocery program has expanded and now offers food delivery at hubs outside the city, extending into the Lower Mainland. The food bank puts an emphasis on providing quality food and offers fresh produce, eggs and dairy products. Canned goods are limited to high-protein items and vegetables.

“We’re at our internal capacity… We are starting to reach a capacity where it’s not just about our finances, but also about our physical space,” Friedman said.

“Literally, just in the last few weeks, we are hitting our capacity. We try to respond to everyone who comes to our door, but the numbers are growing.”

Some of those seeking help have had to be put on waitlists, Friedman said.

The “critical” shortage of housing in Vancouver, as well as inflation and wages that haven’t kept up, are factors driving the numbers.

“There were people who were getting by, people who were doing OK, but now it’s pushing people to the limits,” she said.

To cope with the growing numbers, JFS is looking for new space and trying to recruit more volunteer drivers to deliver food. The agency is also examining how to restructure its resources to meet the unceasing demand for assistance, Friedman said.

“There is a growing need and we want to address it both from a strategic way in our organization and by understanding that there are issues globally and within our community that need to change to ensure that everyone has access to healthy food.”