A startling number of young people are relying on food banks, and emergency food in Oxford County. New stats from Oxford's Social Planning Council on the issue of Food Security shows around 30% of those visiting organizations like the Salvation Army and Operation Sharing are under the age of 18. Social Planning Coordinator Ashley Farrar says it's a major concern. "We know that children who grow up living in poverty, their brain develops differently. Not having access to healthy food, and needing to access emergency food providers, that is really concerning. Their brain is going to develop differently and that is going to last for their lifetime." Another concerning stat, Farrar says, is in regards to the number of first-time users. "Around 30% of people accessing emergency food providers are new clients, which means each year, it's not the same people accessing the services. I think the increase in the price of food, and with the economy the way it is, we are seeing people access these services who have never had to do so before." The price of nutritious food over the last few years, has risen 13%, contributing to a rising number of food bank users in the County. The Social Planning report pulls together stats from all agencies in the County, from Tillsonburg to Tavistock. Farrar says continuing to track the data will show how Oxford County is progressing in the area of Food Security. She also hopes it will help those agencies understand the issue their grappling with. "I've heard from a couple of agencies that it's the first time that they've seen a compilation of all of the information across the County, and they're finding it very interesting. Hopefully they'll be able to use it as they move forward in program planning."
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