As the cost of living soars, millions of Canadians are turning to food banks

Every Saturday, people from all over the block on College Street in the heart of Toronto, Canada, gather to have dinner at a small church called St. Stephen-in-the-Fields. Volunteers involved in the food program provide a hot casserole, rice, and perhaps some fruit and yogurt to the people if the necessary ingredients are available.
The church's spokesperson, Maggie Helwig, who manages this program, states that consistently, 130 people are served dinner every Friday, compared to just dozens of people seen a couple of decades ago. On Saturday and Sunday mornings, the line for breakfast is even longer, with hundreds of parents, seniors, students, employed and unemployed individuals.
Helwig says, "Every week, we are searching for something." "Every week, we run out of food, and we search through cupboards and freezers to find something to give to the people."
This astonishing demand is also seen in food banks and other food programs across Canada. A recent report from Canadian food banks published on Thursday shows that this year, with the rising cost of living, the use of food banks has reached a level that has not been seen since the first generation in 1989.

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