Mississauga has fastest growing food bank usage in all of Ontario: report
Food insecurity in Mississauga has reached an unprecedented and unwanted milestone.
According to Food Banks Mississauga’s latest annual Impact report, the city just west of Toronto is seeing the fastest growing food bank usage in all of Ontario.
In Mississauga, 1 in 13 residents or eight per cent of the city’s population used a food bank between June 2023 and May 2024.
Almost a third of those clients, roughly 16,000, are children – a 42 per cent increase from the previous fiscal year.
In total, Food Banks Mississauga, the city’s leading food security organization, and its 60-plus member agencies saw 421,251 visits in that time frame – an 80 per cent year-over-year jump.
Those visits translate to 56,267 food bank users, which is more than double the number of people who accessed a food bank or related service the year before. Provincially, the number of food bank users went up by 25 per cent during that time frame.
Across its network, Food Banks Mississauga, which is formerly known as the Mississauga Food Bank, distributed more than nine million pounds of food from June 2023 to May 2024, more than double what it handed out the previous year.
“Food banks were meant to be a temporary emergency support, not a replacement for government social assistance programs,” Meghan Nicholls, CEO of Food Banks Mississauga, said in a news release.
“But almost 40 years later, we must show that we are in a food insecurity crisis because government programs are underfunded and haven’t kept up with the rising cost of living. People shouldn’t have to choose between paying rent, feeding themselves, or feeding their families.”
Nicholls went on to say that the capacity of Mississauga’s food banks network is “maxing out.”
“It’s only thanks to our community’s support and generosity that we can continue providing food to our neighbours today while advocating for policy change for tomorrow,” she said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Israel reports 8 combat deaths as troops battle Hezbollah in Lebanon and fears of a wider war mount
Israel's ground incursion into Lebanon to battle Hezbollah militants left eight Israeli soldiers dead Wednesday, while the region braced for further escalation as Israel vowed to retaliate for Iran's ballistic missile attack a day earlier.
'Dream scenario' for Poilievre as Conservatives open up 20-point lead with NDP, Liberals tied
The latest Nanos numbers show Pierre Poilievre and the federal Conservative Party have opened up a significant lead, and Justin Trudeau’s Liberals have fallen back into a statistical tie with the NDP.
Ontario man shocked when engine not covered under warranty due to 'over revving'
A Pickering, Ont., student going to college to be a mechanic is shocked the engine in his two-year-old car will not be repaired under warranty after the dealership claimed he had been 'over-revving' the engine.
2 dead and thousands evacuated as a typhoon approaches Taiwan
An approaching typhoon bringing strong winds and torrential rainfall to Taiwan killed one person and injured dozens of others over the past few days and led to the evacuation of thousands from low-lying or mountainous areas.
Medallion containing original mould from discovery of penicillin goes up for auction
A medallion containing some of the original mould involved in the discovery of penicillin is expected to fetch up to US$50,000 when it goes up for auction later this month.
OPP seek DNA in historical missing person's case
Huron OPP are asking for DNA to possibly help solve a historical missing person's case. In October 1967, police received a report that two men left for a fishing excursion from the Port of Goderich and were never seen again.
Emily Carr painting purchased for $50 at U.S. barn sale heading to auction
When New York-based art dealer Allen Treibitz went to a barn sale in the Hamptons a few months ago, a painting hanging in the old structure immediately caught his eye.
Buffalo Bills' Von Miller suspended by NFL for 4 games for violating personal conduct policy
Buffalo Bills edge rusher Von Miller was suspended four games by the NFL on Tuesday for violating the league's personal conduct policy.
Thief employs classic move to nab US$255K ring from Tiffany, authorities say
A jewel thief who is wanted in connection with crimes committed from Florida to South Korea stole a diamond ring worth $255,000 from a Tiffany store in New York by switching it with a cubic zirconia replica, authorities said.