Food bank usage across Ontario has reached unprecedented levels, with the Daily Bread Food Bank in Toronto reporting the largest increase in its 41-year history. The recently released Who’s Hungry 2024 report reveals there were 3.49 million visits to Toronto food banks such as Daily Bread and North York Harvest, marking a 32 percent rise from the previous year’s 2.6 million visits. Notably, one in ten Torontonians now rely on food banks for survival, with over 120,000 people accessing them for the first time this year. Over half of these new users hail from households with employment.
Since 2019, food bank visits have consistently risen in Toronto, beginning with 935,000 visits. The ensuing years have seen numbers escalate dramatically, with 1.5 million in 2020, 2.12 million in 2021, and 2.65 million in 2022, culminating in a record-breaking 3.49 million visits this year. This troubling trend is not confined to Toronto; it’s mirrored throughout Ontario. The Feed Ontario’s recent report indicates over 5.8 million visits provincially within the last fiscal year, a 47 percent increase since the pandemic began.
Many food bank patrons are left with a meager $6.67 daily after settling rent and utility bills, a decrease from $8.01 the previous year. The growing food insecurity underscores an urgent need for solutions as the province heads into 2025.
