MANITOULIN—Similar to a 2023 provincial Hunger Report released last week, Food Bank services on Manitoulin Island are facing a large increase in visitors needing this support. A new report by Feed Ontario reveals that food banks are experiencing the largest increase in visits on record, more than double the increase seen following the 2008 recession. The report points to insufficient social support programs, lack of quality employment and unaffordable housing as the drivers.
“It’s very similar across the province,” said Colleen Hill, executive director of Manitoulin Family Resources (MFR). “It is epidemic everywhere, and we are facing the same challenges here on the Island as anywhere else in Ontario.”
Ms. Hill said in the past year the number of visitors to the MFR food bank has increased by 200 visits per month. “There has been a dramatic increase. And this doesn’t just include people who are unemployed, or those on pensions who are asking for assistance.”
“There are lots of people who visit the food bank that have, for example three part-time jobs and can’t make ends meet,” said Ms. Hill. “And if something unforeseen occurs and they are faced with additional costs, they have to make choices like either fixing their car or eating.”
Kathy Mutch, of the Lyons Memorial United Church Food Cupboard in Gore Bay, “we have definitely seen an increase in the demand and need from people using our food cupboard. We try to do one order of food each month and we have seen where there is hardly anything left on the shelves when a new order comes in; and we are trying to let people take a little more than they normally would when they do visit.”
“We’re barely getting by on one food order per month,” said Ms. Mutch. “That little room (food cupboard) now takes about $2,000 per month to fill with food and other items. The food cupboard is very well used, and people really appreciate that it is there for them to use.”
Feed Ontario released its 2023 Hunger Report on November 27, revealing that over 800,000 people accessed emergency food support last year, visiting more than 5.9 million times. This is an increase of 38 per cent and 36 per cent respectively over the previous year, and the largest single-year increase ever recorded by Ontario’s food bank network. A major driver of this extraordinary growth came from people who never had to rely on a food bank before, with two in five people being first-time visitors, a 41 percent increase over the previous year.
The report highlights that food bank use has been increasing for the last seven consecutive years and points to the progressive growth of precarious work, an erosion of our social support programs, and a failure to invest in affordable and supportive housing as the longstanding drivers. More recently, the spiraling cost of living crisis has made it even more difficult for people in Ontario to stretch their already stretched income any further to afford their basic necessities.
“Ontarians are struggling to get ahead,” said Carolyn Stewart, chief executive officer (CEO) at Feed Ontario. “While we are seeing low unemployment rates across the province, working Ontarians are having trouble earning enough income to afford today’s cost of living. As a result, more people than ever before are turning to food banks for help.”
In 2022, the unemployment rate in Ontario returned to pre-pandemic levels, yet food bank use has continued to rise. As detailed in the report, workers are turning to food banks in ever greater numbers, with more than one in six visitors citing employment as their primary source of income. Precarious work is a major driver of this trend, as Ontario’s labour market has shifted, with temporary and part-time jobs comprising a greater share of the labour force. As a result, earnings are not increasing as fast as expenses, making it difficult for Ontarians to make ends meet.
“It used to be that having a job meant that you would not need to access a food bank,” said Ms. Stewart. “This is no longer the case. Working Ontarians are having trouble earning enough income to afford today’s cost of living, even when working multiple jobs or trying to cut expenses.”
Beyond the newer trends concerning working Ontarians, inadequate social assistance programs continue to be a longstanding driver of food bank use. As detailed in the report, monthly incomes for social assistance recipients remain more than $1,300 below the poverty line. These low rates both put people in poverty and make it harder to move out of poverty.
Inadequate incomes are only one part of the story. The lack of affordable housing continues to be a significant driver of food bank use as more Ontarians are faced with housing costs that require the majority of, or even exceed, their monthly income. As revealed in the report, two thirds of food bank visitors have less than $100 left each month after paying for housing.
“As a fixed expense, unaffordable housing drives food insecurity and food bank use as it makes it difficult, if not impossible, to afford any other necessities,” said Ms. Stewart. “Essential items like heat, hydro, medicine and food become unattainable when a person cannot keep a roof over their head.”
In addition to the challenges being faced by Ontarians, the report discussed the challenges being faced by food banks as they struggle to meet this surge in demand. Primarily it notes that food banks were designed to respond in emergency situations, providing support for a short period of time to help get people back on their feet. They were never intended to be a long-term solution or to fill the gaps created by income security and decreased affordability.
“Food banks are continuing to work incredibly hard, but they are struggling to keep up,” said Ms. Stewart. “We are hearing from food banks daily that they are concerned about keeping their doors open, let alone keeping supplies on their shelves.”
Food banks are not immune to the financial challenges being faced by Ontarians. As the need in Ontario communities continues to grow it is outpacing the available food and financial resources that food banks rely on to provide service. As a result, more food banks are having to make the difficult decision to reduce service, and some are even worried that they will have to shut down completely.
When it comes to addressing this crisis, the report is clear: food banks are not a solution to food insecurity or poverty: only good public policies that ensure adequate access to income and affordability are able to create meaningful change. The report calls on the government of Ontario to help Ontarians get ahead by improving Ontario’s social assistance programs by increasing rates and reducing clawbacks, investing in affordable and supportive housing, and supporting working Ontarians through the development of quality jobs and improvements to labour laws.
“Poverty is a policy choice, and our government has the ability to make meaningful change,” said Ms. Stewart. “We cannot let this record-high food bank use become the new normal and we cannot let hunger in Ontario become normal.”
The report highlights that food bank use remains at an all-time high with this year marking the seventh consecutive year of food bank use increases. 800,822 adults and children accessed a food bank in Ontario between April 1, 2022-March 31, 2023, an increase of 38 percent over last year and 60 percent over pre-pandemic levels. Ontario’s food banks were visited 5,888,685 times throughout the year, an increase of 36 percent over last year and 101 percent over pre-pandemic levels.
