Residents at Hillcrest Lodge are struggling to get by after a recent price hike on their monthly food plans.
The Matchedash Street affordable housing complex offers seniors affordable apartments and daily meals, but some residents are now struggling to afford their day-to-day expenses following a $135 monthly food plan hike that took effect Feb. 1.
Residents were notified by a letter in late January about the changes to the meal plan, which provides them with a brunch and dinner every day of the week.
For resident Gordon Mill, who, like many of the 31 residents at Hillcrest, lives on a tight budget, the increased cost has forced him to make some tough financial decisions.
He has had to cut back on haircuts, the amount of laundry he does, stop purchasing condiments, like ketchup, that he keeps in his apartment for personal use, among other concessions.
“That $135 increase (also) took my newspapers, the occasional little lottery ticket, and took a full tank of gas out of my residual income,” Mill, 76, told OrilliaMatters.
With the increase, Mill’s monthly food bill has climbed to $550 per month, on top of his $571 bill for rent and $200 utility cost, and he said he feels residents are being “squeezed to their last nickel.”
Mill said he was recently approved for a different apartment in Orillia, where he said life will be more affordable than at Hillcrest.
For many tenants, however, Hillcrest remains the most affordable option available to them.
One resident, who wished to remain anonymous, and has been a Hillcrest tenant for years, noted that he previously had to dip into his meager savings to get by.
He had previously been subsisting off ODSP payments, and received a bump financially when he qualified for a Canada Pension, but that extra money has disappeared with the recent hike.
“I had some money saved up in the bank, not very much, but I had to withdraw the money I had just to cover my expenses and to sort of live a little better of a life,” he told OrilliaMatters, noting this price hike is not the first in recent years. “(I get) a few more dollars now on Canada Pension .. but the thing is, now, that's being affected with this $135 (increase).”
He also noted how, during the pandemic, Hillcrest shifted from offering three meals a day to tenants to the current two meals a day, and that common areas in the apartment building – including the cafe – have been closed since the pandemic broke out.
Meals have since been delivered to tenants’ doors.
“Before COVID we used to have the dining room downstairs,” he said. “But since COVID has relaxed … they backed off one meal. Now they call it a brunch; we get it at 10:30 or 11 a.m. and supper’s at 4:30 to 5 p.m.”
The price hike comes as Hillcrest Lodge faces tremendous financial difficulties, which were recently discussed at a city council meeting following a letter from board president Michael Jones.
The organization is seeking retroactive forgiveness for property taxes from the city after arriving in a situation where their tax exempt status as a charitable organization was thrown into question.
Hillcrest and the city previously had a 10-year agreement that exempted the organization from paying property taxes, but in 2019 a Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) assessment deemed Hillcrest Lodge ineligible for its tax exempt status moving forward as it does not own the property.
Although the organization is actively working with the city, and the property owner, to rectify the situation, left unresolved, residents could see additional dramatic hikes to their costs of living.
Regarding the increase to cost of the monthly food plan, Jones said that rising costs of doing business have contributed to the hike.
“Food costs have gone up through the roof. There's no question about that,” he told OrilliaMatters. “We've had to pay the price of the rising cost of living and food just really escalated in prices.”
The organization runs on a tight operating budget, he said, which means rising costs "unfortunately have to be passed on" to tenants.
“We're not making any profit … that money has to come from somewhere. So far, it's coming from the tenants, and it has to really remain that to keep the business model viable," he explained.
Jones said there are plans to reopen the common areas in the near future, and said the shift to two meals a day came because not many tenants were up for breakfast in the past.
As the organization works to resolve its financial situation, Jones said any possible savings it can realize moving forward will be reflected in what tenants have to pay.
