Mayor declares food insecurity emergency amidst rise in food bank usage.

With more people needing to use food banks, the city of Toronto has taken steps to deem food insecurity an emergency.

The city council adopted a motion to declare food insecurity an emergency in December 2024. Mayor Olivia Chow followed up by officially making the announcement Jan. 27.

With the crisis worse than ever, the motion calls for an urgent need for action from the provincial and federal governments to enhance security programs, promoting decent work with living wages and investing in the city’s affordable housing. The city will now integrate the declaration into poverty reduction strategies.

Chow announced that the city will be stepping up to increase the budget for school food programs, so kids in school don’t have to wait for the provincial or federal funds.

Bhumika Jhamb, senior advocacy and engagement specialist at the Daily Bread Food Bank says that the food banks are seeing “long queues of seniors, of persons with disabilities, people with children.” Jhamb also notes that “in the last two years the number has really risen, and we now are seeing more than one in 10 Torontonians relying on food bank in the city.”

“There are several reasons behind it (growing food insecurity) … there has been a huge increase in the cost of living, inflation has risen many folds, especially the shelter and food related costs have gone up drastically,” Jhamb adds.

A report by Daily Bread shows that food bank across Toronto saw 3.49-million client visits in 2024. Breaking down this information further, 57 per cent are Canadian citizens, permanent residents or First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples.

This is a 273 per cent increase since the pandemic.

The remaining 43 per cent is comprised of newcomers and refugees.

The report highlights that decades of underinvestment in public services, infrastructure and social housing has created today’s cost-of-living challenges.

This effect is seen across Canada, but vulnerable populations and newcomers were dealt the brunt of it and are yet too often, the first to be blamed for the cost-of-living crisis according to the report.

“At the end of the day, I think it really speaks to the lack of income security and the lack of employment supports in our country… because poverty and food insecurity are just mere symptoms of the larger, deeper systemic issues,” says Jhamb.

Those who rent made up 80 per cent of the food bank clients. Those who fall into this category report having a median monthly income of $1,265 of which the median cost in rent and utilities was $1,200.

Jhamb emphasized the worsening situation with threats of tariffs looming over Canada, and that she hopes for long term solutions at the federal and provincial level to tackle the core issues and not the symptoms.

“Food banks would love to be out of business, but we don’t see that happening as of now,” she said.

The report also indicates that 42 per cent of new clients are students (domestic and international).

A case study within the report shows that international students faced greater financial challenges with lower median wage per hour –  $17 – compared to $20 for domestic students.

Federal regulations also restrict international student working hours to 25. Domestic students are reported to have 35 work hours on average per week.

Smaller food banks within local communities have had to turn away students due to high demand and limited resources.

Jhamb says that the daily bread food banks, “serve each person who arrives at a food bank regardless of immigration status. International students are caught in the middle of policy failures of the government. The students who are coming to food banks are facing very real struggles in making ends meet.”

The Student Association aided 915 students facing the challenges of food insecurity, through its Student Nutrition Access Program (SNAP).

SNAP records show that over a third of students who receive support are living below Canada’s poverty line; 67.5 percent of the students had an annual household income below $10,000.

Ruka Watanabe, SNAP coordinator, agrees that food insecurity is a symptom with underlying root causes being “low wages, high cost of living, and the financial and economic landscape of the city.”

“There is a stereotypical image of international students that people have… if they are able to come here and pay high tuition fees, why would they need to access food support?”

Watanabe is hopeful that with the emergency declaration, the solutions will also listen to the voices and narratives of the experiences of international students recognize the struggle.

With federal elections this year, it is likely that this issue will take on some limelight and be a hot topic of discussion, this would allow everyone to voice out their concerns and share their thoughts on how best to address food insecurity a common challenge faced by everyone in Canada.

With federal elections this year, it is likely that this issue will be one that candidates vying for votes, will need to have plan to address.