By Carolyn Stewart, CEO at Feed Ontario
No child should have to wonder where their next meal is coming from. And yet, 1 in 3 food bank visitors in Ontario are children.
Today is World Hunger Day, and as the end of the school year approaches, I often find myself thinking of all the families who need to depend on school breakfast and snack programs to make sure their children have enough to eat. During the summer months those programs disappear, leaving many families with no choice but to turn to a food bank to put food on the table.
In Ontario, the unfortunate reality is that more people than ever before have to rely on a food bank to get by. Over 1 million people accessed a food bank in Feed Ontario’s network last year alone, as the cost of living continues to increase with incomes not keeping pace. Factors like unaffordable housing, the rise of low-wage part-time and gig work, and social assistance programs that have fallen behind are driving the need for food banks, and it can be easy to overlook how much this impacts kids.
For every family having fun this summer, there is a family facing incredibly difficult challenges, working hard to stretch their already tight budgets to pay for additional expenses like meals at home and childcare. Often, we hear from parents who tell us they need to skip meals after a day at work to make sure their kids have enough food to eat. Helping kids have access to the healthy food they need to grow and learn is an important part of the work food banks are doing throughout the province.
What brings me hope is that neighbours across Ontario are helping each other as more people struggle to make ends meet. Food bank volunteers offer their time to give back to their community, local organizations contribute to efforts working to end hunger, and people everywhere are doing what they can to be there for those in need, even as an increasing number of people in Ontario need to cut back.
As kind people in communities in every region of our province step up, it’s more important than ever to continue to work toward lasting change. No child in Ontario should face hunger.
This summer, kids around the province will increasingly need the support of food banks. On World Hunger Day, I’m grateful for the food banks, organizations, and compassionate people doing their best to support those in need, until we reach the future we’re working toward, where every child, adult, and senior in Ontario has access to the food they need to thrive.
While hunger is a staggering problem to solve, change can start in our own communities. There are little things anyone can do that make a big difference, on World Hunger Day and beyond. A small step like finding out more about how hunger affects your community and sharing what you learn can have a big impact. Contributing to your local food bank’s efforts in whatever way you’re able to can mean a meal for a child who needs it. Connecting with your elected representatives and letting them know that ending hunger should be a priority can lead to wider change. Hunger is a complex challenge, but by working together we can make sure that in the future no child goes without the food they need.