‘Harsh reality’: Ontario food bank use reaches record highs

In Toronto, the Daily Bread Food Bank says the need has hit levels not seen in its 41-year history, recording 3.75 million visits this past year.

Food bank use across Ontario has reached record highs, with Toronto’s Daily Bread Food Bank reporting its largest increase in the 41 years since it opened.

According to the Who’s Hungry 2024 report, there were 3.49 million client visits to Toronto food banks like the Daily Bread and North York Harvest — a 32 per cent increase from the 2.6 million visits recorded the previous year.

According to the report, one in 10 Torontonians are using food banks to make ends meet and more than 120,000 people accessed food banks for the first time this year. Over half of these new clients come from households with at least one working member.

In Toronto, food bank visits have increased every year since 2019, with 935,000 visits recorded that year. Numbers have almost tripled since then, a trend the report describes as “a grim harsh reality.”

In 2020, recorded visits climbed to 1.5 million, followed by 2.12 million visits in 2021. In 2022, 2.65 million people visited food banks, marking a 53 per cent increase. Finally, 2023 saw a record 3.49 million visits to food banks across Toronto.

This trend is not limited to Toronto. The surge is part of a broader trend across Ontario, where food bank visits have been steadily increasing.

Feed Ontario’s latest report revealed more than 5.8 million visits to food banks across the province in the last fiscal year, representing a 47 per cent increase since the onset of the pandemic.

Many food bank users are left with just a few dollars each day after paying rent and utilities. This year, the average was $6.67 left over per person per day, down from $8.01 last year.