Toronto food banks now receive more visits annually than the entire city’s population.
According to the Daily Bread Food Bank and North York Harvest Food Bank’s annual Who’s Hungry report, there were 3.49 million client visits to Toronto food banks between Apr. 1, 2023, and Mar. 31, 2024. The city’s population is just over 3 million people.
The 3.49 million visits mark a nearly 1 million increase from the previous year and a 273% increase since before the pandemic.
“It is unfathomable that the number of client visits to food banks is now higher than the City of Toronto’s entire population,” said Neil Hetherington, CEO of Daily Bread Food Bank. “Our governments cannot continue to stand by as people are pushed further into poverty due to astronomical housing and food prices, years of inflation, stagnating wages and insufficient income supports. We need and demand action now.”
The study revealed that more than one in ten Torontonians rely on food banks, a 36% increase in unique clients from last year.
“While eight new locations were opened to meet the growing demand in our communities this past year, this cannot explain the enormous increase in client visits,” reads the report. “More food banks are not the solution to addressing the root causes of hunger in our city.”
Across the country, food bank visits rose 90% in the last five years.
Over four in five, 82%, of new food bank clients are newcomers to Canada, arriving within the last five years. 36% of new clients were temporary residents.
The report highlighted that 97.6% of Canada’s population growth in 2023 came from international migrants, including 805,000 temporary residents, which accounted for 63% of population growth.
The fastest-growing age group relying on food banks in Toronto is working-class people between 19 and 44 years old. Almost a quarter, 23%, of food bank clients are youth.
The report highlighted that the cost of living crisis is pushing households deeper into poverty, as income fails to keep pace.
Over half, 57%, of clients said cost of living was the primary reason they visited a food bank.
“After paying rent and utilities, food bank clients have a median of just $7.78 left per person, per day, to pay for all other necessities,” reads the report.
The report reveals food bank clients are employed as over half of clients, 51%, have at least one member of their household who is employed. Toronto food bank clients have a median monthly income of $1,265 — barely half of Toronto’s Official Poverty Line, which is a monthly income of $2,397.
Between June 2021 and June 2024, grocery prices increased by 21.9%. However, Canadians are only spending $253 a month on food, a 19% drop in four years.
“You pay the rent, but you can’t feed yourself. That’s when Daily Bread and other food banks come into play,” said one client.
The Who’s Hungry report provided various calls to action. Three calls to action were provided to readers. Six were provided to members of parliament, a different six to members of the provincial parliament, and another six to city councillors.