Number of people using Ontario food banks rose 38 per cent last year: report
CTV
A report released today indicates the number of people who used Ontario food banks went up 38 per cent last year, which it says is the largest single-year increase recorded by the province's food bank network.
A report released today indicates the number of people who used Ontario food banks went up 38 per cent last year, which it says is the largest single-year increase recorded by the province's food bank network.
The new report by Feed Ontario, a collective of hunger relief organizations, says more than 800,000 people in the province turned to emergency food support between April 1, 2022 and March 31, 2023.
It says the total number of visits to food banks also rose similarly in that time, totalling more than 5.9 million, or 36 per cent more than the previous year.
The report says much of the growth came from first-time visitors, who accounted for two out of five people who used food banks. It notes that's a 41 per cent increase from the previous year.
The document says food bank usage has gone up for the last seven years in a row.
It points to precarious work, the erosion of social support programs and a lack of affordable housing as longstanding factors, with the skyrocketing cost of living as a more recent contributor.
The report says food bank use has continued to rise even though the unemployment rate returned to pre-pandemic levels in 2022.
