Rising costs of living, food insecurity, homelessness and more are all issues facing many people in the area, and thanks to community support, they are all issues the Salvation Army works to help tackle.
Salvation Army Fort Frances captain Arthur Heathcote noted that the organization is continuing to see new people accessing their services, where they provide food through their food bank, as well as assistance in finding jobs and housing. However, many of these people are not unemployed, or even homeless. Rather, those coming to seek assistance, Heathcote said, are those who are struggling to make ends meet.
“The food bank continues to see new people coming to the food bank,” he said.
“Interestingly enough, those people are people that are working, that are just trying to make ends meet.”
According to data provided by Heathcote from Food Bank Canada’s 2024 Poverty Report Card, stats for Ontario have shown that 45.7 percent of the province’s population are spending more than 30 percent of their income on housing, with 52.9 percent of those receiving government support saying the rates are insufficient to keep up with the costs of living. Meanwhile, the data also shows that the food insecurity rate in the province has risen to 24.5 percent in 2024, compared to 19.2 percent in 2023.
From the numbers, the situation is worsening, and those living within those poverty numbers are facing numerous challenges, but Heathcote said community support in Fort Frances has given the organization the means to continue to assist those in need.
“[The numbers] would be really scary without the kind of support that we see here in Fort Frances,” he said.
“I’m often flabbergasted when we ask for help, that is immediately comes. People write checks, they bring in food, they call and say ‘what can we do? How can we help?’ and that takes the pressure off immensely.”
The Salvation Army participates in a number of food drive programs each year, from the Kettle Campaign and Stuff-A-Cruiser in the winter to collaborations with Walmart and Safeway, in order to keep the shelves of the food bank as full as possible to help those in need, which leads to something of an ebb and flow in the quantity of stocked food items throughout the year. However, Heathcote said that when their shelves start looking lean, it’s the community that comes through and helps fill them back up to last until the next big food drive.
“It’s all kind of moving pieces,” he said.
“Some pieces move at this time of year, other pieces move at a different time of the year. It’s a matter of being able to find that rhythm, and once you’ve got that happening it’s really sweet because then people’s needs are being met.”
Heathcote said those coming in looking for help with food insecurity are usually often facing other challenges, which he said family services co-ordinator Ryan Daw is excellent at helping them with as he develops relationships with individuals and families and learns more about their lives and struggles.
“There’s often something behind their need, other than food, that is really behind it,” Heathcote said.
“Ryan is very gifted at being able to develop relationships with people to get them to discuss a little bit about what’s going on in their lives. Some of these housing conversations came out of somebody just saying ‘I’m hungry today.’ Others that needed jobs, had we not asked, they wouldn’t have told us in the first place. So the food bank is very much a beginning step for us to be able to try and identify what the real needs of individuals are, and between the resources here in town, we’re able to either refer people to those who are able to help them, or we have the means by which to help them ourselves.”
According to Heathcote, since January of this year the Salvation Army has served 13,000 pounds of food to over 260 children, women and men, provided nutritional items that have benefitted 3,100 children in the district, secured housing for six families, jobs for three individuals, and provided essential clothing for approximately 20 people in need.
Anyone who needs food or assistance is welcome to call the Salvation Army at 807-291-0012 to set up an appointment.
