Hamilton Food bank donations drop in summer, but need is high

Summer is the hardest season for food banks. Local operations like St. Matthew's House and Hamilton Food Share see fewer donations this time of year coupled with an increase in the number of people who need food.

There is a 25 per cent increase in the number of people who access food banks, which rely heavily on donations,in the summer, according to St. Matthew's House social services manager Karen Randell.

Kids being out of school for the summer puts a strain on people.- St. Matthew's House social services manager Karen Randell

Kids being out of school for the summer months puts a strain on people, she said. Parents have to pay for care. Donations being down could be due to vacations.

There's also no major organized food drive in the Hamilton area in the summer months -- unlike around holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter, and the Ancaster Community Food Drive in February.

St. Matthew's House sees an average of 19,250 pounds of food donated monthly from September to June, but the average for the months of July and August are only 8,700.

Other emergency food programs (food banks and hot meal lines) in the Hamilton community include the Good Shepherd Centres, Mission Services of Hamilton, Neighbour to Neighbour, Wesley Urban Ministries, Living Rock, Welcome Inn, Stoney Creek Food Bank and the Salvation Army.

Click through the photo gallery above to see which items food banks need the most.