Toronto on pace for highest number of food bank visits ever recorded: report
Posted November 16, 2020 8:29 am.
Last Updated November 16, 2020 8:30 am.
The city is on pace to see the highest number of food bank visits ever recorded, according to the ‘Who’s hungry Report’ out Monday.
The report, put together by the Daily Bread Food Bank and the North York Harvest Food Bank said that even before the pandemic, food bank use was up by 5 per cent compared to the previous year with close to one million visits — the same level as peak following the 2008-09 financial crisis.
The COVID-19 pandemic is intensifying food insecurity in Toronto, according to the report, the number of visits increasing by 22 per cent in June compared to 2019, and by 51 per cent in August compared to last year.
RELATED: Daily Bread Food Bank’s record number of September visits a sign of ‘dire need’ during pandemic: CEO
Three quarters of respondents who had never accessed a food bank before reported that they began using food banks because of the pandemic, primarily due to job loss or reduction in hours.
85% say they still didn’t always have enough food to eat even after accessing food banks.
The report makes a number of recommendations saying additional government action is needed to prevent skyrocketing food bank use from becoming another long-term crisis.
