Food Insecurity in Ottawa
How the CCFC Helps – and How You Can Help
Diana Mahaffy, Director of the Centretown Community Food Centre (CCFC) was guest speaker during FBC’s annual Mission Sunday on October 27, 2024.
The service, led by members of the Service Commission, as is the custom, draws attention to the many opportunities we have to serve our community both at home and abroad. In advance of this year’s Mission Sunday, congregants were invited to donate food items to the CCFC. During the presentation of the offerings, the baskets of food were also brought forward.
“Diana plans to retire soon,” said Elizabeth Demaray as she introduced Diana. “We are so grateful for her service and for her willingness to speak to us today. Her shoes will be hard to fill.”
“The work of the CCFC is the work of the community . . . the work of many, many people,” Diana said, noting that several members of FBC are involved with the Food Centre and its umbrella group, the Centretown Churches Social Action Committee.
She reminded the congregation that the CCFC had, earlier this year, changed its name from the Centre-town Emergency Food Centre. “Food insecurity in Ottawa is no longer an ‘emergency’ situation; it has become all too common.
“The people who need our help are not somehow separate from us. They are our neighbours; they are members of our community. Helping people in need of food is not responding to an emergency. It is an important part of building a healthy and loving community,” she said.
“Food insecurity [is] about inadequate income support programs and lack of affordable housing. In Canada, food bank use is disproportionately high among single parents and those from marginalized communities.”
She then quoted figures that painted a chilling picture of food insecurity.
People who receive Ontario Disability Support because they are unable to work receive $1,300 a month to live on. In addition to rent, they also need to spend that money on essentials such as food. People who are on Ontario Works (“what we used to call welfare”) receive even less – $732 a month. “It’s no wonder that every community in Ottawa has a very busy food bank,” she said.
Diana encouraged listeners to let their elected officials at all levels of government know that this is not acceptable. “People need enough money to live on. Relying on organizations such as the Centretown Community Food Centre to fill the gaps is not a humane or sustainable way to operate.”
The CCFC’s most recent survey found that 32 per cent of visitors are on Ontario Works, 26 per cent are on disability, 14 per cent rely on some kind of pension, 12 per cent are employed full- or part-time, and five per cent are students. Twenty-two per cent are children and 12 per cent are seniors. Forty-four per cent identify as a member of a racial or ethnic minority group and, of those, 22 percent also identify as an indigenous person.
Seventy per cent of households use the food bank only one to three times a year, she noted, saying that people only use the services when they need it.
“We are currently providing food for 1,500 people every month. That’s up 50 per cent over the past year. One thing I’ve noticed recently is more people who have lived in the neighbourhood for a long time are coming to the food centre for the very first time. Things have gotten so expensive that people are no longer able to make ends meet.
Diana outlined how the food bank system works in Ottawa. The Ottawa Food Bank does not give food directly to individuals. Instead, it purchases, collects, warehouses and then distributes food to neigh-bourhood food banks across the city. The CCFC serves Centretown neighbourhood east of Lyon Street, the Glebe, Old Ottawa South and Old Ottawa East, including the Lees Avenue neighbourhood. Anyone who lives in those areas can come to the CCFC.
“We don’t ask people who come in for help how much money they have or how sick they are. We do our best to make access to our services as barrier-free as we can. The only thing we ask for is identification and proof of address,” she said.
The CCFC’s new location at 370 Catherine Street is set up much like a grocery store and visitors, accompanied by a volunteer, can “shop” for their goods, including canned and dry goods, meat, milk, bread and fresh produce. About 60 per cent of the food comes from the Ottawa Food Bank. Community food drives also collect non-perishable food, and a significant amount of food is purchased.
And how is this paid for? The food centre has a budget of about $300,000 per year. That pays for three part-time staff members and rent of the premises plus food purchases amounting to about $130,000 per year. “All of this is currently funded 100 per cent through donations; we receive no government support.”
In January, the CFCC will receive 40 per cent less food from the OFB each week than it does now.
On November 22, 2024 the Ottawa Food Bank issued a "declaration of emergency" about the number of people turning to the organization to put food on the table, warning it will need to cut food distribution 20 to 50 per cent next year unless it receives "immediate and sustained assistance" from all levels of government.
The CCFC is working on ways to manage this and lessen the impact on those they serve. “We have committed to making sure that the quantity of basic items will not change. People will still receive the same amount of meat, milk, eggs, bread, fruit and vegetables . . . but some things are going to fall off the list. For instance, we are no longer purchasing sugar or powdered milk. Unfortunately, no matter how good we are at managing this situation, in January people will be going home with less food than they do now.”
In closing Diana said, “You are all important contributors to the success of the food centre. Keep up the good work!” She encouraged the congregation to share news about the food centre and the vital work it does. “Our main need is financial support. The Ottawa community is a generous one, and the more that people know about the work we do, the more they will support us,” Diana said.
“Thank you to everyone in this congregation who supports the Food Centre so generously.”