Ontario food banks cutting back amid 'unprecedented surge in demand'

About 40 per cent of food banks in the province have scaled back the amount of food they provide each visit amid “record-high demand,” according to a new report by Feed Ontario.

The report, which was released Monday, reveals that usage has “surpassed the capacity and resources” of Ontario’s food bank network, adding that provincial food banks were accessed by more than a million people between April 1, 2023 and March 31, 2024. This marks a 25 per cent increase over the previous year. About 43 per cent of those visitors had never used a food bank before, the report states.

“People only turn to food banks after they’ve exhausted all other options – and yet over one million Ontarians still needed our help,” Carolyn Stewart, the CEO of Feed Ontario, said in a written statement released Monday.

“This is the highest number of people on record, and is occurring at a time when donations are declining as more individuals can no longer afford to give. As a result, food banks are being stretched beyond their capacity and running out of resources at a time when people and families need them the most.”

Feed Ontario said that every region in the province saw “double-digit increases” in usage over the last year, noting that this is the second consecutive year that food banks in the province have seen an “unprecedented surge in demand.”

The report also notes that about 50 per cent of food banks have cut wrap-around services due to a lack of resources.

“Food banks are doing everything they can to keep their doors open and their shelves full, but when donors start turning into clients, an impossible situation starts to emerge,” Stewart said.

“Food banks do not have the resources to adequately meet the level of need in our province. As a result, even with the help of food banks, people and families are going hungry.”

The organization said that over the past four years, food banks have seen an 80 per cent increase in the number of households who rent and a 109 per cent increase in the number of people who are experiencing some form of homelessness.

About one in four food bank users are employed, the report adds, and about 42 per cent of those visitors indicate that they are earning minimum wage or less.

Improvements to the Ontario Works program as well as the Ontario Disability Support Program and investments in affordable housing are among the policy recommendations made in the report.

“We cannot feed our way out of an affordability crisis,” the report states.

“It is only through policies and programs that support the well-being of all people that Ontario will be able to stitch the fabric of our province back together again.”