Over the past year, we’ve seen an unprecedented increase in food bank use in Ontario, with 38% more people relying on our services than the year before.
This is both unjust and unsustainable, and the failure to address underlying issues is starting to normalize hunger and poverty in our province. Food banks are designed to be an emergency service, and cannot continue to absorb these increases indefinitely.
We need good public policy changes to reduce the need for food banks.
If you used our Fork in the Road interactive tool, you went on a journey with one of four characters – Dan, Bessy, Angela, or Charlie – and learned about the structural forces that trap many Ontarians in poverty.
In our 2024 Pre-Budget Submission, we recommend specific actions the Government of Ontario can take that could help people who are experiencing similar challenges, including:
Protect workers like Dan
As a precarious worker, Dan does not have dental benefits to help cover unexpected expenses or paid sick days when he comes down with the flu. If he experiences wage theft from his employer, it will be difficult for him to receive justice, especially as he has no union to turn to for help.
While Employment Insurance-Sickness (EI-Sickness) provides Dan with a little support when he can't work due to an accident, his friends who are gig workers aren’t eligible for these kinds of standard worker benefits.
Ontario can protect workers like Dan and his friends by reducing wage theft, reducing barriers to unionization, and classifying gig workers as employees.
Sign the Petition
Join us in calling on the Government of Ontario to take immediate action on poverty reduction by signing the petition below.