Hunger hurts people from many walks of life and situations, including low-income families, children, working age adults, people with disabilities, and seniors. Food bank usage in Canada has grown by 99.4% since 2019, with 2.2 million people visiting foodbanks in one month alone in 2025. In Ontario, over 1 million people in 2025 were unable to afford sufficient food for themselves and their families and had to seek assistance.
A parent skipping meals so their kids can eat. A senior choosing between medication and groceries. A worker juggling multiple jobs and still coming up short at the end of the month. These are not outliers.—Food Banks Canada
Food insecurity is a public health crisis that negatively impacts people’s physical, mental, and social health.
The current trend of rising food insecurity in Canada has been linked to the skyrocketing costs of food, the lack of affordable housing, insufficient provincial social assistance rates, and income inequality.
A cost-of-living crisis has gripped the country, and for many, food banks have become the solution. Compounding this crisis are global and political shifts that are further straining an already brittle system.
Food banks are facing not only record demand but also skyrocketing costs and donations that aren’t keeping pace with the need. —Food Banks Canada
The food assistance sector plays a critical role in bridging the food insecurity gap for people who can’t afford to put sufficient food on the table. Food banks are facing the highest usage in Canada in Ontario in recorded history—a trend that clearly is not sustainable.
Food banks work tirelessly to help people to put food on their tables, but the root causes of growing poverty affecting more households each year must be addressed.
Food banks alone cannot address the food gap too many households are facing. We support the following recommendations for addressing this crisis:
For more information on the growth of food insecurity in Canada, read Food Banks Canada’s 2025 Hunger Count Report.
Food Banks Canada 2025 Report
For more information on the increase in food insecurity in Ontario and the reasons behind it, see Feed Ontario’s 2025 Hunger Report.
Feed Ontario 2025 Report
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