Food bank stats reveal strain of inflation in Windsor, Ont.
The need for help seems larger now than it has been in a long time.
According to the UHC Hub of Opportunities, there have been over 92,000 food bank visits this year at their main building and in the parking lot at Adie Knox Herman Arena where the lines for food have been long.
“Mostly are newer clients that never used a food bank,” said Ali Bazzi, warehouse coordinator. “I've been working for UHC for about fifteen years. I've never seen it like this in my life.”
According to recent numbers, the UHC saw the number of new food bank users grow by 48 per cent, or 5,526 people, over last year.
Once a donor and now a client is a stat Krystle Bryan and many others do not want to be part of.
“You don't want to be. You really don't want to be but it's life right now,” she said.
The mother of six has been overwhelmed by the rise in the cost of food to feed her family.
“With my fixed income there's no way I'm able to feed my family and they get all the nutrients that they need,” she explained.
This is why she is in line for help, and told CTV News Windsor, “They help out. The groceries are wonderful and I'm so grateful but at the same time it's still not even enough.”
Other food banks like St. Vincent De Paul are feeling the pinch and appreciate any and all donations. Jen Wilson, outreach coordinator, received a $1,000 dollar donation from 93.9 morning show hosts Hannah and Jonny on Wednesday.
“The thing they want the most that just so happens to be on sale is tuna fish,” explained Wilson. “We can get a thousand cans of tuna fish for this. A thousand cans is going to fill those two buggies and this cart behind us.”
Bryan hopes others can and will lend a helping hand during these challenging times.
“Because you have just help feed my family and so many others,” she said.
Wilson added there is no better feeling when delivering food to an appreciative family.
“To see the relief on the parents' faces knowing that for a few days they've got some food to get through the times and that their children are genuinely happy and they don't feel the stress. It warms the coldest of hearts,” she said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
PM Trudeau presents premiers $196B health-care funding deal, with $46B in new funding over the next decade
The federal government is pledging to increase health funding to Canada's provinces and territories by $196.1 billion over the next 10 years, in a long-awaited deal aimed at addressing Canada's crumbling health-care systems with $46.2 billion in new funding.

A sensor you draw with a pencil could be used for 'smart diapers,' contactless switches and respiratory monitors
We may soon be able to detect humidity levels, respiratory changes or a too-wet diaper, all with a new type of sensor — one created by drawing with a pencil on specially-treated paper.
Inflation 'turning the corner' after multiple rate increases: BoC governor
After raising interest rates eight consecutive times, Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem told an audience in Quebec City on Tuesday that inflation is showing signs of 'turning the corner' and that the coming year 'will be different.'
LIVE @ 9 ET | Biden aims to deliver reassurance in State of Union address
U.S. President Joe Biden is ready to offer a reassuring assessment of the nation's condition rather than roll out flashy policy proposals as he delivers his second State of the Union address on Tuesday night, seeking to overcome pessimism in the country and concerns about his own leadership.
How more than 100 women realized they may have dated, been deceived by the same man
An Ontario man is being accused of changing his name, profession and life story multiple times to potentially more than 100 women online before leaving some out thousands of dollars.
Balloons and drones among 768 Canadian UFO reports from 2022: researcher
Balloons and drones were among 768 reported UFO sightings in Canada last year, according to Winnipeg-based researcher Chris Rutkowski, who also found that eight per cent of all cases remained unexplained.
Newborn, toddler saved from rubble in quake-hit Syrian town
Residents digging through a collapsed building in a northwest Syrian town discovered a crying infant whose mother appears to have given birth to her while buried underneath the rubble from this week's devastating earthquake, relatives and a doctor said Tuesday.
Canadians now expect to need $1.7M in order to retire: BMO survey
Canadians now believe they need $1.7 million in savings in order to retire, a 20 per cent increase from 2020, according to a new BMO survey. The eye-watering figure is the largest sum since BMO first started surveying Canadians about their retirement expectations 13 years ago.
3 men missing after canceled rap gig were fatally shot
Three men who disappeared after planning to rap at a Detroit party were killed by multiple gunshots, police said Tuesday, five days after their bodies were found in a vacant, rat-infested building.