Mayor, grocery chains urged to donate three cents per plastic bag to ailing food banks

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Unless Torontonians dig deep, the global economic downturn could spell a bleak Christmas and early 2009 for the nearly one million people- and growing- in Greater Toronto who rely on food banks, warns one food bank director.

"It's going to be a grim February in the food bank industry," Gail Nyberg, executive director of Daily Bread Food Bank, warned Friday afternoon at the launch of its holiday food drive, which runs to January 2.

"We're asking the public if you can, to dig deep... I don't think anybody thought the economic downturn would be this bad in four weeks."

Daily Bread aims to raise 500,000 pounds of food and $500,000 in cash donations by early next year. Many of its clients are working poor. Thirty-four per cent of clients are children.

Donations are down about 15 per cent compared to the same time last year, Nyberg said.

Nyberg is forecasting the number of working poor could increase dramatically this winter amid the economic downturn, layoffs, and food price hikes.

Statistics seem to bear that out. Daily Bread projects a 13 per cent increase in food bank clients this past September compared to the same month last year.

Nyberg spoke to reporters before a backdrop of near-empty shelves at Daily Bread's south Etobicoke-based warehouse and offices.

"It looks like this across the city every day. Every day we hear from food banks across the city who say, 'Send me more,'" Nyberg said of the 65 food banks across the GTA Daily Bread supplies with food.

Most needed items include baby food, formula, peanut butter, canned fruit, powdered or canned milk, rice, lentils, vegetables, canned fish and meat.

Financial donations can be made online at dailybread.ca or by calling 416-203-0050. Food donations can be dropped off at any fire hall, Loblaws or Real Canadian Superstore.

Amid news that Toronto plans to impose a five-cent surcharge on plastic shopping bags next summer, Nyberg issued a challenge to Mayor David Miller and large grocery chains - donate three cents per bag to ailing food banks.

"All grocery chains could consider donating three cents per bag to food banks in the GTA, Ontario and across Canada," Nyberg said. "I challenge the mayor to make a recommendation to grocery chains to consider donating three cents per bag to food banks locally, provincially and nationally."

Miller spokesperson Stuart Green said Friday the mayor and city council have no ability to mandate how grocery chains use the excess revenue from the bag fee.

"We have no legal authority. We could chat to them about it," Green said.

A call for comment to the Canadian Council of Grocery Distributors was not immediately returned Friday.

If Toronto Council approves the proposal next week grocery stores could collect an extra $23 million in revenue a year. Both Loblaws and Sobeys have pledged to donate any excess revenue from the bag fee to unspecified environmental non-profit causes.