More than 100 volunteers sorted food and packed boxes in Etobicoke on Saturday as part of the Daily Bread Food Bank’s Thanksgiving food sort.

The charity, like others in the GTA, is reporting skyrocketing demand for food, with donations not keeping pace. CEO Neil Hetherington said that five years ago the Daily Bread spent about $1.5 million per year on food. He said that number has now risen to $29 million.

“All that’s done is maintain our service levels. And so it can’t continue like that, it’s not sustainable. It’s a horrific situation that we’re currently in,” Hetherington said.

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow, and Ontario Premier Doug Ford were among those who attended the food sort. Amid the messages of thanks for the community support, there were also calls for more action from all levels of government, to do more to address poverty and hunger.

Growing need

The Daily Bread Food Bank said it now sees about 330,000 client visits each month, compared to 60,000 before the pandemic.

Occasional food bank user Kristina Kennedy, a mother of four who is on the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP), said she never imagined she would need to use a food bank. But everything changed when she got sick in 2017, and her husband died shortly after.

“It really is crazy how overnight you can go from having a relatively stable income and then going into, you know, really difficult financial instability,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy said she has noticed the lineups at her local food bank getting much longer, and she said she often speaks with people in line who are part of the work force.

“I want people to know like, it could be your daughter or your son or, you know, someone in your family. And maybe they’re just not letting you know they’re going there, because there is a stigma around it,” Kennedy said.

Daily Bread Food Bank CEO Neil Hetherington said the increase in food bank use is “horrific” and unsustainable. (James Spalding/CBC)

Valerie Tarasuk, a professor emerita and the University of Toronto, said it is sadly “predictable” that food bank demand has risen dramatically, including among people who have jobs.

“Everybody knows when you go to a grocery store, the prices of food have gone through the roof,” said Tarasuk, who is the lead investigator of PROOF, a research program focused on policy interventions to address food insecurity.

With the cost of food and other basic necessities going up, she said neither wages nor social assistance have “risen enough to compensate.”

Ford, Chow talk about making life ‘more affordable’ 

Speaking to media at the food sort, Premier Ford encouraged people to donate to the food bank to support those in need, and spoke about what the province has “done to make life more affordable.”

He talked about job growth in the province, the Low-Income Workers Tax Credit, saving people money on transit through the One Fare program, and a recent increase to minimum wage.

Tarasuk said the minimum wage increase earlier this month to $17.20 is “really positive,” but said that alone is not enough.

“In the context of these prices, people need more supports if they’re working in low wage jobs,” she said.

According to the Ontario Living Wage Network, a worker in the GTA needed to earn at least $25.05 per hour last year in order to cover their basic expenses and participate in their community.

Mayor Olivia Chow and Premier Doug Ford assisted with the food sort, and spoke about efforts to make life more affordable. (Michael Cole/CBC)

Mayor Chow also spoke about efforts to make life more affordable, including by focusing on building more homes and through rent supplements. She also acknowledged the difficult decisions many Torontonians are faced with, including deciding between buying food or paying rent.

“Because of Daily Bread Food Bank, because of all that you do, a lot of families won’t need to make that hard choice this Thanksgiving weekend,” Chow said.

“We live in a Toronto where we take care of each other, where we share what we have.”

With the food bank struggling to keep up with demand, Hetherington encouraged those who are able to donate food or money. He also encouraged people to write to their elected officials, to ask them to do more to reduce poverty.

“We are here really primarily today for a Thanksgiving next year where we start to see a reduction in food insecurity,” Hetherington said.