Toronto's Daily Bread Food Bank receives $2 million donation

A volunteer organizes boxes for food at the Daily Bread Food Bank's Spring Drive-Thru food drive at the food bank in Etobicoke, Ontario on Saturday, April 3, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston

Toronto’s Daily Bread Food Bank has received a significant and much-needed donation from the U.S.-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Earlier this week, the Etobicoke-based food bank announced that it is the recipient of a $2 million donation from the Mormon church, which has approximately 50,000 members in Ontario and 17 million members worldwide.

This donation is the largest financial gift it has made in Canada to date. The church previously made more moderate donations to the Daily Bread in 2022 and 2023.

The funds will be used to purchase “high-demand, nutritious and culturally appropriate foods for individuals accessing emergency food services,” the Daily Bread said.

A portion of the money will also be directed to “building resiliency” in the food bank’s transportation fleet, “ensuring that we can continue to meet increased demand in deliveries to our member network.”

“Food is a human right,” Neil Hetherington, CEO of the Daily Bread Food Bank, said in the news release.

“We are deeply grateful for, and inspired by, partners like The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who are dedicated to serving our community and ensuring that families have the support they need during times of crisis.”

Elder David G. LaFrance, of the Area 70 of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said the donation is a “reflection of its “deeply held Christian conviction to love God and our neighbours.”

The church’s communication director in Ontario added that conflict, hunger, disease, disaster, and poverty happen in all parts of the world, including in Toronto.

“We are grateful to partner with Daily Bread Food Bank to help with the responsibility of caring for our fellow humans,” Rich Ternieden said.

Members of the Daily Bread Food Bank and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints pose for a photo. The church recently made a $2 million donation to the Toronto-based charity. (Daily Bread Food Bank photo)

Food insecurity growing exponentially in city: Daily Bread

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Daily Bread saw on average 65,000 food bank client visits each month. This past May, that number reached 350,000. At least 13,000 new people are walking through the doors of the food bank for the very first time each month, the food bank said, and those numbers are rising rapidly.

“In order to meet the growing demand for emergency food services, Daily Bread is now spending $29 million on food purchasing annually, compared to $1.5 million pre-pandemic,” said the Daily Bread.

The food bank is attributing the dire situation to “food inflation, skyrocketing housing costs, stagnating wages and insufficient income supports.”

Almost a quarter of its clients spend 100 per cent of their income on housing, leaving no money for other necessities, like food, and putting them at high risk of homelessness, the Daily Bread noted.