Demand explodes at food banks

Despite the freezing cold, more than fifty people lined up outside on Saturday evening in front of the kiosk of the Les Pirates Verts food bank in Montreal. “Customership has increased significantly over the past year,” says Marie-Pier Denis, volunteer with the organization. But above all, it is the profile of the people which is no longer the same. »

The needs are only growing throughout Montreal. So far, year after year, nearly twenty organizations have requested help from Moisson Montréal during the holiday season. This year, more than twice as many people knocked on the doors of the food bank, which will be exceptionally open on Friday, December 27.

Helping around fifty organizations on a daily basis is common at Moisson Montréal. But until last year, there were normally almost half as many when the holidays arrived, with a good number of organizations closing their doors during this period.

“Usually, we have 15 or 20 organizations. But the latest news, I think that 45 to 48 organizations [ont demandé d’avoir des denrées] on December 27,” notes the general director of Moisson Montréal, Chantal Vézina.

M^me Vézina believes that if so many food aid centers have raised their hands, it is probably because some have decided to remain exceptionally open, the needs being immense today. The food bank helps fill nearly one million requests for food assistance each month through the organizations it serves.

Same story with the NPO Les Pirates Verts, established in the district of Hochelaga, which has been open for several years during the holiday period. Hot meals are served there until December 24, and the organization is also one of the only food banks open on Saturdays.

Mr. Zaidi says that people line up for food well before opening, because sometimes the organization cannot fully meet demand. The Green Pirates do not collect their food from Moisson Montréal, but rather benefit from the help of other organizations, such as La Tablée des Chefs, which collects surplus food from hotels and even restaurants.

The general director of La Tablée, Jean-François Archambault, also noted that demand was growing. “We always do more, but it’s never enough,” he said. Same story with grocery stores, which are receiving ever more requests to obtain surplus food, confirms the manager of the IGA branch on Wellington Street, in Verdun, which collaborates with the Society of Saint-Vincent de Paul.

Profile of beneficiaries and housing crisis

The biggest change this year? The profile of the beneficiaries, note Moisson Montréal and Les Pirates Verts, which is confirmed by the Society of Saint-Vincent de Paul, which helps tens of thousands of families in the metropolis and in the northern crown, and the Mission Bon Accueil, which responds to the needs of 10,000 families per month.

Among the beneficiaries today, we find single-parent families, students, newcomers, but also many other people who are struggling to make ends meet.

The year was also marked by issues such as the housing crisis and homelessness needs, which often go hand in hand with requests for food assistance.

Moreover, in Montreal, the number of families benefiting from the Society of Saint-Vincent de Paul increased this year by 40%, in Pointe-aux-Trembles and L'Assomption, by 70%. But it is in Laval that demand has exploded the most, while the number of families helped has more than doubled. Its general director, Romain Duguay, makes a direct link to the increase in housing prices throughout Greater Montreal. Same thing for the Mission Bon Accueil, whose attendance increased by 30% in 2024.

“Even if we innovate with half of nothing, the fact remains that at some point, we will be caught up by the scale of the challenge,” added M^me Vezina.

Reliance on food banks

Inside the Pirates Verts distribution kiosk, in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, volunteers were busy packing meals prepared for the many beneficiaries waiting in the cold outside. No time to take a break, explains Marie-Pier Denis. “There are many who depend on us for food,” she explains.

This is particularly the case for Stéphanie, who was waiting outside to receive her dishes. The beneficiary had never used food banks before this year. “I didn’t even know it existed before. But now it saves my life,” she says.

Further in the line, two men were chatting, smiling, while waiting to fill their bags with the fresh produce spread out on the tables in front of them. “I come here often,” says Yves. It makes a big difference, because even with a job, you can't do it. »

The food bank is a lifeline for the beneficiary, who devotes a large part of their budget to housing. “The real problem is the rent. It affects everything. We pay the rent first, and then we have to cut corners on groceries,” he laments.