Something is off. But it’s hard for Barrie Food Bank executive director Peter Sundborg to pinpoint exactly why his organization is seeing a record number of visitors in recent months.

In October, there were 3,300 visits to the food bank. The number dipped slightly to 3,200 in November.

But the number of July and August visits jumped by nearly 500 when compared to the same two-month period in 2018.

The food bank had averaged about 2,800 monthly visits for the last two years, Sundborg said.

He says the biggest indicator of trouble may be the number of first-time users, which has hovered around 90 in each of the last two months. Sundborg suspects cost-of-living increases, and a lack of affordable housing and full-time, stable employment, may be forcing people to seek help.

“Everything has increased,” he said, noting the city’s average apartment rental rate is among the highest in Canada. “In the last couple of months, we've seen record numbers. We’re seeing people come in with large utility bills. They’ve still got to pay their utilities on top of high rent.

"A few years ago, it wouldn’t be unusual to see someone on (the Ontario Disability Support Program) paying $800 per month for rent. Now, they’re getting $1,160 a month and paying $1,100 for rent and having to figure out how to pay for food. They haven’t got any money for life in general.”

Barrie resident Allan Brooks has volunteered at the food bank for the last six years. He’s there three days a week and has noticed a surge in the facility’s usage; on several days last week, more than 90 orders were placed.

“You see a lot here, (but) I’ve never seen anything like that,” he said.

A new report by Feed Ontario, formerly the Ontario Association of Food Banks, shows 510,438 individuals accessed a food bank in the province last year, visiting nearly 3.1 million times.