100,000 people expected to turn to food charity in Toronto for 1st time this year, survey finds
CBC
About 100,000 people are expected to turn to food charities in Toronto for the first time this year, according to new research by Canada's largest food rescue organization.
Second Harvest, which released the research on Tuesday, says that number represents a projected 30 per cent increase in demand for food charity in Toronto compared to the year before.
In December, Second Harvest surveyed 1,480 non-profit organizations in Canada that support people with food, including food banks, faith-based organizations, schools and shelters. The organization asked the food charities how they expect demand to change in the coming year.
The survey, entitled Hungry for Change, paints a "very stark" picture of the sector, Lori Nikkel, CEO of Second Harvest, said at a news conference on Tuesday.
"This food network is at a breaking point and needs both food and money to meet the growing demand," Nikkel told reporters, adding Canadians cannot keep up with rising food costs.
"Our systems are buckling under the pressure."
More than a third of food charities that participated in the survey said they've been forced to turn people away, the survey found. That includes more than 50 per cent of the Toronto charities that participated.
Food insecurity is an "enormous" problem in Canada, Nikkel told CBC News, adding more and more people are being pushed toward food charity.
"What's scary is that we're normalizing this. That this is the new normal is not acceptable when one in five people can't get the food that they need," she said.
"It's outrageous that millions of people are going to bed hungry every night literally. People are starving in Canada. We need policy change and fast."
Other findings include:
The findings have prompted Second Harvest to call on all levels of government to take action, saying solutions that address poverty and provide quick relief are needed most.
It also hopes to see public policy that requires businesses to measure and report food waste, it said.
That action could take the form of federal and provincial interventions, such as bringing back the Surplus Food Rescue Program, expanding eligibility for the GST grocery rebate, increasing minimum wages and social assistance rates and lowering taxes for the lowest income households, it said.
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