KENORA – A staggering 313 per cent increase in food aid recipients has been reported by Kenora’s Salvation Army food bank since this time last year, marking a record high.
From January to April 2025, 355 people were fed. This year, that number has climbed to 1,466 people, which is already 70 per cent of the amount of people fed through the food bank in the entire year of 2025.
They have already distributed 14,500 pounds of food to recipients, who are allowed to receive aid once per month.
These statistics come from the Salvation Army’s community ministries director Stuart Walter, who said that the majority of this year’s new recipients of the food bank are long-time residents of the city.
More locals are recipients of food aid than one may assume, according to Walter.
“It could be your neighbour, your coworker, parents of a kid in your kid’s class at school.”
“About one in every four people who use a food bank work at least part-time. We don’t have any concrete, exact numbers at this point, but that is on the rise, and I’d say its probably closer to one in three, if not higher, of all clients that we have coming through the food bank,” said Walter.
Similarly, Fort Frances’ Salvation Army food bank is seeing employed people make up about half of their recipients.
“In the previous years, it was a lot of unhoused individuals and people on disability, and then it just totally changed around to a lot of people that have jobs and just can’t make ends meet,” said Ryan Daw, the community family services coordinator of Fort Frances’ Salvation Army.
Another particular demographic in Fort Frances that Daw has seen a “concerning” rise in, are seniors. Daw said that the number of seniors using the food bank have doubled, if not, tripled.
“They say that their pensions aren’t equal to the food that’s on the shelves, so when seniors come to see me, they’re usually in pretty dire straits. I would say it’s one of those issues where the pensions just aren’t keeping up with inflation,” he said.
Daw continued that while right now they are able to manage, as Fort Frances “has a giant heart,” they will be in a crisis if the demand for food continues to grow.
In Dryden, about three new families are registering each week for its food bank. Manager Allen Huckabay said that the extra money that people used to donate has diminished because of the current economic situation.
Huckabay also pointed out that grocery stores will have sales that, while quite helpful to shoppers, are usually perishable foods or things that are nearing their best-before date.
Kenora’s food bank asks that people donate in any way they can, whether it be in food, funds or time.
By Maya Ekman, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Original Published on May 06, 2026 at 14:25
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