“We’ve seen a dramatic increase, which really has an impact on
the programs and services that we have available here in the community,”
Campbell said during an interview on CBC Kitchener-Waterloo’s The Morning Edition Tuesday morning.

Campbell
says single individuals using the food bank’s network of services may
include people living with disabilities and seniors who live in rental
units that don’t have proper kitchens.

“[It’s] up 30 per cent since 2016. So that’s quite an increase
in the number of seniors requiring the use of a food bank,” he said.

The
report notes that while seniors, people 65 years old and older, don’t
represent a large proportion of people accessing food at just seven per
cent, “when looking at the rate of increase within each age group over
the last three years, seniors are far outpacing the rest.”