By Katie Freeman Every year, people look forward to their favourite holidays to celebrate with their friends and family with food, drink, games, and gifts. And the cost of that celebration adds up.
By Katie Freeman
Every year, people look forward to their favourite holidays to celebrate with their friends and family with food, drink, games, and gifts. And the cost of that celebration adds up.
In fact, in Western culture, Christmas is one of the biggest consumer holidays of the year.
However, times are tougher these days, which makes this time of year less celebratory and more stressful due to rising costs.
It’s not a secret that the Canadian economy is in a weird spot right now. Inflation rates are holding steady at 3.1% but the amount that everything has gone up over the last two years is jarring for Canadian consumers.
Grocery costs are up 5.4% and housing costs more than 6%. According to a poll by Angus Reid (pollster, sociologist), the cost of living is the biggest issue Canadians are facing as of November 2023 with 61% of those polled agreeing that it takes the number one spot.
Food Bank Canada reports that donations are down while need is up with food bank use going up 35% since 2019, with half of Canadians buying lower quality food or less food in general just to get by.
And this is Canada-wide.
How does this affect the Sarnia-Lambton community? To find out, I called a couple of food banks in town to see if they could confirm that this setback is happening locally.
I spoke with Danica Craig who works at the St. Vincent De Paul Sarnia-Lambton as the Food Bank and Help center manager: “We are seeing all different kinds of walks of life in here. People who get by paycheck to paycheck. And it would be what you’d consider working-class poor or whatever they call it these days. And still the single parents.”
“And of course, the families that just can’t get by,” Craig added.
Craig also provided me with statistics informing me that from 2021 to 2022 there was a 29% drop in donations, compared to 2022 to 2023 with a 23% drop in donations which is an average of a 25% drop per year overall. Conversely, there has been a 30% increase in clients.
I also spoke with Brad Webster, the pastor/officer for the Sarnia Salvation Army food bank: “Here is the difference between our food bank and a lot of other ones. We have been needing to purchase a lot of our own food. So, this year has been a weird year where we are seeing very little donation.”
Webster also added that over the last few years, they have seen a further decline in food donations with a 40% overall increase in demand. Both Craig and Webster guessed that the rising costs of living were the cause of low donations.
So, if the food banks are struggling, then that is evidence that the people in our own community are struggling.
Additionally, I’ve talked to several people in my life who are not able to participate in Christmas the way they had hoped – or at all, due to financial strain. This doesn’t even include those in less fortunate situations as both Craig and Webster confirmed their clientele include those experiencing homelessness.
With all this information, it is easy to feel overwhelmed and disheartened.
People are scared and frustrated already and when you factor in a large stressor like Christmas where there is pressure to spend money, it's no wonder that Christmas spirits are low.
How can we celebrate when the realities of expensive living dictate how we spend our time socially? And what solutions are there when options are limited?
I’m not entirely sure, but perhaps Christmas is not about material things but the absence of it. When facing times of struggle, it is important to focus on what we do have rather than what we do not. Being grateful does not mean we have to accept our circumstances but rather help us move forward in challenging times.
Many of us are still so fortunate in the grand scheme of things.
For those that have the means, donating to different organizations makes a significant difference in the community. For those without, pooling resources among loved ones will make things stretch farther.
Keeping up the holiday spirit and caring for one another is a worthwhile cause now and in future.
To quote Dickens, “I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.”
To donate to the Salvation Army call: 519 337 3011 To donate to St Vincent De Paul: https://www.ssvpsarnialambton.ca/who-we-are/
Katie Freeman is a born and bred Sarnian with a preoccupation for people and culture/art at large. Tackling the big picture and how it relates to the human experience is what keeps her curious. She has an English Lit & Rhetoric degree from the University of Waterloo, a cat, and crippling addiction to fantasy novels.
