$2 million is the goal as food banks in Mississauga try to feed record numbers in need

Mississauga’s largest network of food banks is calling for cash this holiday season as it seeks to raise a record amount of money to feed record-breaking numbers of people who need help putting food on the table for their families.

Food Banks Mississauga, which operates a network of more than 60 member agencies across Canada’s seventh-largest city, is looking to collect an all-time high of $2 million through its 2023 Holiday Drive, which runs until Jan. 8.

The ambitious financial goal is necessary, food bank officials say, “as the need for food in Mississauga continues to skyrocket.”

FBM has distributed 5.9 million pounds of food in the past 12 months and the number of people in need is growing at a record-setting pace month by month, according to FBM CEO Meghan Nicholls.

She said the charitable organization served 16,759 people in October, an all-time high number of users in a single month.

“We continue to see record-breaking need in our community, and we’re predicting it will only continue to increase in the coming months and weeks,” Nicholls said in an online video to FBM supporters.

“It’s our busiest holiday season on record,” she added.

FBM officials say monetary donations enable the huge charitable network to source and purchase fresh and frozen food such as dairy, meat, grains, fruit and vegetables in bulk at lower prices than retail.

Every dollar donated allows FBM to provide “healthy and appropriate food for one meal to those in need,” they add.

Nicholls said earlier this fall that the agency is setting records it doesn’t want to achieve.

“It was another record-breaking month in October,” she said in an earlier news release, noting FBM has set new all-time highs in monthly usage each month so far in 2023. “This is a 50 per cent increase year over year (from October 2022). As the holiday season approaches, there is no sign of this urgent need slowing down. Since June 2023, Food Banks Mississauga has seen, on average, 51 per cent more food bank users every month compared to the same times last year.”

The umbrella agency’s Annual Impact Report, released in October, shows FBM is providing meals for 82 per cent more people today than it did prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It also revealed that from June 2022 through this past May, FBM served 18 per cent more people than the previous year.

In total, according to the report, FBM has helped provide meals for 35,538 people this year, or five per cent of Mississauga’s population.

The bottom line, according to Nicholls, is that Mississauga and communities across Canada are facing a crisis when it comes to ensuring people and their families have enough food to put on the table.

Food Banks Mississauga CEO Meghan Nicholls addresses city council in October.

“Every month that we break a new record is an emergency that should result in a major response from all levels of government,” she said in the agency’s news release. “We should not be hitting new records this often, but as each month passes, the number of folks who rely on us climbs. We are predicting this December we will support 19,000 neighbours in need, which is 8,000 more than December of last year.

“This is why we are calling on all those who are able to make a gift to support their neighbours facing food insecurity this holiday season,” continued Nicholls. “Until government policy changes, we need your help to raise $2 million to provide healthy and appropriate food for two million meals and keep pace with the surge in demand that we and our agency members across the city are experiencing.”

At least one burden on FBM might be lifted if a plan from a Mississauga city councillor comes to fruition.

Ward 5’s Carolyn Parrish told Nicholls in October at city council she’s working on a deal that could get FBM its own parcel of land upon which to build its own facility rather than continuing to lease space at $1 million per year.

(Cover photo: Food Banks Mississauga)