Even with rate cuts and easing inflation, nearly one in 14 Ontarians are still going hungry.
Just over one million people visited a food bank in Ontario over the past year — an increase of 25 per cent from last year — a new report from Feed Ontario has found. They combined for over 7.6 million visits to food banks between April 1, 2023 and March 31, 2024 and it marks the eight consecutive year food bank use in the province has gone up.
Feed Ontario, a network of 1,200 food banks and other organizations that address food insecurity, released the report on Monday.
It’s very likely this is the first time ever that food bank use has crossed one million in Ontario — “I never thought I would see this day,” Carolyn Stewart, CEO of Feed Ontario, said.
“What we find so shocking about it is that we continue to try and call people to action, and the problem continues to get worse,” she added.
The latest data shows food bank usage hasn’t eased since earlier in the year — and has, in fact, gotten worse. Last November, Daily Bread Food Bank reported that one in 10 ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½nians relied on food banks and another year-end report from Feed Ontario last year saw food banks shattering 2022 records.
Educators and government administrators have taken it on the chin with higher costs eating into their inflation-adjusted wages every year.
The record number of Ontarians turning to food banks comes even as the Bank of Canada cut its overnight lending rate for a third consecutive time last week, citing falling inflation. Still, shelter costs remain a pressure point for Canadians, as rent and mortgage payments eat more into paycheques — all while wages in many industries are stagnating.Ìý
How many people in Ontario are using food banks?
Food bank visits have increased dramatically over the past year — over the same period tracked last year by Feed Ontario, 800,822 people visited an Ontario food bank. That number has jumped to 1,001,150 this year. One in three visitors are children, Stewart said, one in two adults are on social assistance and one in six are employed.
The seven million visits to the province’s food banks was nearly seven times the attendance of this year’s CNE.
And no one has been spared — everyone from international students to pet owners have had to turn toward food banks for survival over the past year.
Demand for food banks has increased by 135 per cent over pre-pandemic records.Ìý
“This is not sustainable,” Stewart said. “Food banks are already being stretched to the limit and can’t keep up.”
“We’re there for an emergency provision of food when people are most in need, but we’re not a solution to food insecurity.”
1.8 million kids in Canada worry about where their next meal will come from.ÌýBut Arnya doesn’t know the sacrifices her parents are making.
What can we do to help?
Stewart wants to see more action from the provincial government to bolster social assistance rates and introduce social policies to alleviate food insecurity.
“We can’t feed our way out of this problem,” Stewart emphasized. “It has to be a collaborative effort between the public, social services, the government of Ontario, the Canadian government, as well as charitable organizations.”
For people who want to help, Stewart said the first step is learning about food insecurity and advocating local representatives for change in policy.Ìý
“That’s how we start moving the tide on food insecurity, and in poverty, is by calling to action those whose job it is to make change.”
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