benefits and income support programs helped to flatten surging In order to continue mitigating food bank use in many areas of the the impact of COVID-19 and to province, food bank use continued reduce poverty in our province, to remain high in a number of Feed Ontario recommends that communities, particularly where the provincial government take the cost of living is higher than immediate action t. [...] When the of the GTA, the Ottawa Food Bank Government of Ontario first reported an increase of over 400 declared the State of Emergency percent in calls from people needing on March 17th, 2020 and the food support; and the Unemployed widespread closure of thousands Help Centre in Windsor reported of businesses and employers seeing double the number of across the province, food banks households acce. [...] reported a sharp increase in the In equal measure, food banks in number of first-time users, with a smaller cities and rural communities 120 percent increase in the number across the province saw sharp of people accessing food banks in increases, particularly during the the community for the very first first few weeks of the pandemic. [...] This and the resilience of was nothing short of remarkable hundreds of organizations and a testament to the strength and resilience of the provincial that were determined food bank network, and what can to continue providing be accomplished when we work essential food support and together. [...] needed for the amounts of food As the province announced the that we were processing, and to need for those over 70 to self- allow for physical distancing of our isolate, we had to acknowledge the three individuals meeting the needs vulnerability of our volunteers in this of many.
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