More than 1 million people in Ontario needed a food bank in the past year: Hunger Report

For the ninth year in a row, the number of people accessing food banks in Ontario has grown.

The annual Hunger Report from Feed Ontario released Monday says more than one million people made 8.7 million visits between April 2024 and March of this year.

That’s a one per cent increase from last year and an 87 per cent increase since the 2020 Hunger Report.

But as concerning as those numbers are, Feed Ontario CEO Carolyn Stewart says the bigger issue now is seeing how food insecurity in the province is spreading out and impacting other facets of life, including how people access housing, health care and their communities.

“We're hoping that this report serves as an alarm bell for the interconnected issues of poverty and the reality we're seeing out there,” Stewart said.

“Strong communities start when everyone's basic needs are being met and when that doesn't happen, poverty starts to weaken communities and it erodes the trust that people have in the systems, institutions that are really meant to be there to keep them safe and support them and support their well-being.”

Feed Ontario is an advocacy organization that represents more than 1,200 food banks and hunger-relief organizations in the province. 

A quick look at the numbers in the report, which covers between April 1, 2024 and March 31 of this year, shows:

In the report, 34 per cent of people said they made their first visit to a food bank in this last year. This is down from 43 per cent in 2023-24, which the Hunger Report notes seems like good news, but there are still concerns.

“With fewer new people seeking support, food bank use year-over-year has continued to rise,” the Hunger Report says.

“This indicates that although there are fewer new people and families turning to food banks for help, those who already need this support are relying on food bank services for longer periods of time.”

Stewart said the number of times people are visiting is up. Where people used to visit five to six times a year, now it’s nine to 10 times.

Recent reports from food banks across the province have painted a picture already this year of how much need is on the rise.

In July, the town of Cochrane declared a food insecurity emergency after the food bank said over the last three years data shows its usage rates increased by 106 per cent.