Rising demand at food banks seen as ‘canary in the coal mine’ for affordability crisis [Video]

As a single mother on a fixed income, Kelly Tysick finds it harder than ever to make ends meet. Rents have jumped in her Montreal borough of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, making the rising cost of food nearly impossible to afford on her budget.

“I feel like it used to be affordable living, but now it’s beyond belief,” Tysick said during a recent visit to the Depot Community Food Centre, a local non-profit that aims to address food insecurity.

The centre provides meals three days a week and offers food baskets and other services to those in need.

Tasha Lackman, the organization’s executive director, said demand tripled in the span of two years — forcing them to put a cap on new customers.

“We reached our capacity as an organization in terms of the food costs, the space that we have, the human resources that we have,” she said.

They now serve roughly 1,800 families a month.

Across Canada, she pointed out, nearly one in four peopleexperience some form of …