Explore the Hunger Report 2024 Overview

 

Hunger Report 2024

The 2024 Hunger Report provides analysis of the data gathered by the Ontario food bank network between April 1st, 2023, and March 31st, 2024.

This year’s report includes an in depth look at how the services and supports provided by food banks are being affected by escalating demand and the affordability crisis. The report looks at food bank use over the year and provides insights to the misconceptions of who is relying on food banks and why poverty reduction strategies are urgently needed.

Food bank use data

• Unique Individuals: Over 1 million people accessed a food bank in Ontario between April 1, 2023, and March 31, 2024, an increase of 25% over last year and 86% since 2019-2020.
  • This represents 1 in 16 Ontarians and is greater than the entire population of Nova Scotia.
• Visits: Ontario’s food banks were visited a total of 7,689,580 times throughout the year, an increase of 31% over last year and 134% since 2019-2020.
• First-time users: 2 in 5 visitors had never accessed a food bank before, an increase of 43% since 2019-20.

Drivers of food bank use

• Unaffordable housing: 76% of visitors are rental tenants and 9% are experiencing some form of homelessness (precarious housing, unsheltered, emergency shelter, etc.).
• Precarious employment: Food bank visitors who cited employment as their primary source of income increased by 91% over pre-pandemic levels and 17% over the previous year.
• Inadequate social supports: Social assistance remains the primary source of income for the majority of food bank visitors with 30% relying on OW and 29% relying on ODSP.

Food Bank Sustainability

• Reduction in food support: 38% of food banks have reported having to reduce the amount of food they can give.
• Reduction in wrap-around supports: Half  of all food banks that offered wrap-around supports have been forced to cut or reduce programming due to insufficient resources.