'We don't see the golden years anymore': record number of seniors relying on B.C. foodbanks

New data shows a record number of seniors are lining up at foods back across Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley.

Last month, the Greater Vancouver Food Bank helped feed a record 2,700 seniors. A number, chief operating officer Cynthia Boulter said, has grown to more than 1,200 in recent years.

The Salvation Army in Chilliwack is also seeing a spike of people in need. During the pandemic, it has seen the overall number more than triple with the senior population doubling in size.

“When we first opened the program a few years ago, it was less than 1,000 families that were coming to get food from the pantry. Now, we are well over 3,000,” said Josh Draheim, the community partnerships coordinator with the Salvation Army in Chilliwack.

Draheim said many seniors are forced to save costs by turning to food banks for their daily meals.

On Thursday morning, Giuseppe Berusini was one of over a dozen people who waited outside of the Salvation Army in Chilliwack for hours to fill his grocery bags at the pantry.

“We don’t see the golden years anymore. I’m 69-years-old. I should be secure and stable in life,” said Berusini.

CTV News spoke to several Chilliwack seniors who were facing the same financial hardships.

Seventy-five-year-old Joann Gianforte, said she’s been juggling whether to pay for rent or food because the cost of living in the city continues to devour her pension cheques.

“My daughter has to pay for my electricity, my grandson has to pay for my telephone; these are things that I have to get from other people. If I didn’t have a family, I wouldn’t be able to survive,” said Gianforte.

At a funding announcement on Wednesday at a community kitchen in Cloverdale, the province's minister of social development and poverty, Sheila Malcolmson, said global inflation has had a significant impact on British Columbians.

“We know that the cost of housing, the cost of food has hit people really hard, and that’s why we just invested another $49 million just in food security alone,” said Malcolmson.

While the lineups continue to grow at the food bank in Chilliwack, Tydel Foods is stepping up to help meet the demand.

Recently, the store began a senior meal program called, "Our Daily Bread", where a volunteer is paired with a senior in need, to deliver them meals during the week.

“We’re not letting anyone leave our doors hungry,” said Brigida Crosbie, the store’s owner.