Northern Ontario community groups stepping in as inflation erodes pensioners' savings

Claude Gervais of Sudbury lives on a pension and says at the end of the month, there's not much left over to purchase life's necessities.

After paying his rent and vehicle expenses, he has about $100 left for food and other items.

"That's including gas to get to my cancer treatments at the hospital. So between parking and gas, I can't afford to live," Gervais said.

Prices, Gervais said, noticeably changed around the beginning of the pandemic.

"Prices went from acceptable, now it's almost double since the pandemic was over," Gervais said. 

According to Statistics Canada, Inflation is now at 7.7 per cent, the highest it has been since 1983.

"Because the price of fuel for the truckers, stores got to make their money back so they got to increase everything, but they don't think about us guys that's retired," Gervais said.

To make ends meet, Gervais has been relying on community groups, like Better Beginnings, Better Futures. 

"It's very, very helpful," Gervais said. "They don't even know you, but they talk to you like you're part of the family, which is really nice to see in the Sudbury area."

"They help with clothing that people need, and food that's [donated] from the community, from different companies, different stores. It helps."

Genevieve Gibbons is the community resources coordinator at Better Beginnings, Better Futures. The group offers emergency food services – a nutritional bag of food and hygiene items sourced from local food banks –  designed to last an individual or family a minimum of 24 hours. 

Gibbons said the demand for her group's services started increasing during the pandemic and has continued to grow.

During COVID-19, the group looked after 22 families, Gibbons said. The number has since increased to 140 families. 

"Our minds are blown because we see that increase and that there is a need," Gibbons said. "As everybody knows, the food costs are going up and people lost their jobs during COVID as well."

Better Beginnings Better Futures gets some of its food supply from the Sudbury Food Bank.

Sudbury Food Bank executive director Dan Xilon said they're able to keep up with increased demand, but like other organizations, their costs are going up.

"We're spending way more on food than we ever had for a lot less, because that's just the way the prices are now… and the supplies are not all that great out there," Xilon said. 

"I used to be able to pick up products for a dollar that are now costing me $1.50 or $1.75, and it's the same product."

Xilon attributes most of that increase to the rise in transportation costs, and the scarcity of some goods and supplies. 

In one of the most unique changes at the Sudbury Food Bank, Xilon said he's noticing more first-time users – homeowners – requiring an emergency bridge of food.

"Very seldom the people that own their own homes become people requesting assistance from the food bank," he said.

The number of homeowners needing a few days of food has increased "substantially" in the last six months, he said. 

"They just don't have enough money for food after they pay their mortgages, taxes, all their all their service charges. There's just not enough money." 

"And that's what a food bank is for," he added. "It's not a supplement program. A food bank is an organization that assists you with several days of food when there's too much month at the end of the money."