A new Angus Reid survey suggests that more than half of the people in Canada are struggling and stressing over the high costs of living, including food increases, which is trickling down into charitable donations.

Angus Reid is reporting that many Canadians are responding to price increases with spending decreases with four-in-five saying they have cut spending in recent months by either trimming their discretionary budget, delaying a major purchase, driving less, scaling back travel and charitable donations.

More that half of those surveyed (52 per cent) say they couldn’t manage a sudden expense of more than $1,000.

Six Nations Food Bank Coordinator Tracy Martin says in the last six month they have seen a 15 to 20 per cent increase in families requiring food bank services.

Martin says during the week of Aug. 15 to 19, 2022, they serviced 520 families.

Unfortunately, they can throw out as much as 40-60 per cent of expired food each week, which is why they prefer to have monetary donations to purchase what they need in bulk and make the money go further. But that’s only part of the stress being felt by the food bank.

Six Nations Food Bank Board Chair Mary Monture says it’s important for people to understand that as a single staffed operation they have limited resources for helping distribute the food as well.

To hear CKRZ's conversation with Food Bank Chair Mary Monture, listen to Compelling Conversations this Thursday.