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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Friday, March 11, 2016 | 4 Struggling to make ends meet... many are working poor by Julia Le Oakville Beaver Staff Editor's Note: The name of the local family featured in this story has been changed to protect its privacy. Life hasn't always been a struggle to make ends meet for one Oakville family. But over the years, as the blended family from previous relationships/marriages grew to six children, so did the bills and expenses. "It's mostly paycheque-to-paycheque," said Matthew, at a Food for Life Halton drop-off location one afternoon this winter. Describing his daily grind of working 40-60 hours a week on a set salary, he shared how it's simply his reality as the family's sole earner. Once you factor in food, clothing, maintenance on cars, medications, rent, hydro, internet and phone bills, there isn't much left money for anything else, he said. Matthew was also diagnosed with type 2 diabetes four and a half years ago, which has made him conscious and cautious about what he eats -- and what his children eat because they could be at risk of getting diabetes when they're older. Over the years, he and his common law partner Jennifer have had to make difficult decisions to make sure they've always had a roof over their heads and food on the table each night Food for Life redistributes fresh, nutritious foods, from places like grocery stores and bakeries, to those who are in need in the community. It serves about 23 food banks and hunger relief agency sites in Oakville and more than 90 across Halton. Here, at Oak Ridge Bible Church, volunteers Mary Hillis (left) and Amy Zhang (right) and Food for Life executive director Brenda Hajdu sort fruits and vegetables to be given to families in need. | photo by Justin Greaves ­ Oakville Beaver (Follow on Twitter @halton_photog or facebook.com/HaltonPhotog) for their children who range in ages from 11-24, although two of the older adult children aren't living at home. 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With the rising cost of living and the prevalence of low wages, having a job is no longer a guarantee to a decent living or to move out of poverty, states a Community Lens report released by Community Development Halton, a nonprofit agency in Halton committed to social development for all members of our community. Food for Life Executive Director Brenda Hajdu says situations like the one Matthew is in is more common than people would like to admit. Food for Life redistributes fresh, nutritious foods, from places like grocery stores and bakeries, to those who are in need in the community. Hajdu says its staff and volunteers come across a wide range of families from all walks of life in need of assistance. That's why the group serves about 23 food banks and hunger relief agency sites in Oakville and more than 90 across Halton. About 2.1 million pounds of food is distributed, equivalent to about 6,000 meals a day. Karen Bonham, Food for Life's outreach program manager, says the agency is trying to remove the stigma associated with those who come forward to ask for food assistance. "That's something that has changed over the years," she said. "It used to be thought that if a person had a job, they should not need food assistance, but you see more and more cases." Hajdu added there's the perception that people need to have hit rock bottom, but that's stereotypical. "It's very easy for people to feel judged for going and that's just for lack of awareness of the true need," she said. "It's maybe not what people think. It could be senior living on fixed income, it could be a family four struggling to make ends meet, it could be someone living with mental illness or it could be someone who has lost their jobs for health reasons." These challenges are outlined in the Vital Signs 2015 report, released by the Oakville Community Foundation (OCF) last October. The report notes the issues of equity gap, housing, mental health and inclusion are affecting the well-being of the community. "The precarious class -- the shrinking middle class due to growing income disparity, underemployment and the rising cost of living -- is at the greatest risk of falling into poverty," said Halton Poverty Roundtable Community Development Director Michael Shaen in the Vital Signs 2015 report. A 2013 report on the growth of precarious employment in the GTA and Hamilton found that employment insecurity affects household well-being mainly in low and middle-income households and has a stronger impact on people in low-income households, according to Vital Signs 2015 report. Bonham says people in Oakville are a "good denier that there are people living in need in their communities. "And actually, there's more low-income families in Oakville than there are as an average in Halton," she said. "About 8.5 per cent of families are low income in Oakville." 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