Volunteers have been dwindling, and donations have been on the decline since mid-March when the Canadian government began introducing safety measures, such as social distancing, banning international flights and shutting down non-essential businesses in an effort to flatten the curve of Coronavirus.
Canada’s largest group of food banks, The Daily Bread Food Bank, has reported a 20 per cent increase in the need for it to run its services due to coronavirus, while it struggles with a dramatic shift in operations to get food to those in need. The organization has also reported a 50% decrease in donations.
Where possible, food banks are following the advice of the Public Health Agency of Canada and giving bigger hampers of food so people have a larger supply of non-perishables available should they actually contract coronavirus. Most food banks are shifting their focus largely to non-perishables, in fact, and in many cases have closed other programs to focus exclusively on providing emergency food support.
