Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Ottawa prioritizes global CO2 emissions over hungry Canadians. Why?
The agriculture department acknowledged food bank data indicating users who rely on charity to eat are no longer exclusively unemployed. “About 40 percent of households using food banks rely on social assistance as their main source of income,” said Food Prices.
“However the share of households who rely on employment income has risen since the pandemic.”
The note estimated more than a quarter of Canadians are unable to keep up with food prices: “25.5 percent of people, or 10 million, reported living in food insecure households,” it said. The figure was drawn from Canadian Income Surveys.
The memo was written following May 28 testimony at the Commons finance committee that a tenth of Greater Toronto Area residents ate at a food bank. “Last year visits to food banks in Toronto reached a record of 4.1 million visits,” said Neil Hetheringon, CEO of the Daily Bread Food Bank. “For context, it took us 28 years to get to 1,000,000 visits, two years to get to 2,000,000 visits, one year to get to 3,000,000 visits and here we are now at 4,100,000 visits. We now feed 1 in 10 Torontonians.”
The statistics were “staggering,” said Hetherington. The Daily Bread network distributes goods through 214 food banks and programs.
“Have you seen any change in the demographics?” asked Conservative MP Connie Cody (Cambridge, Ont.). “There are some patterns in the demographics,” replied Hetherington.
“The one I think is most alarming is that the highest growth rate right now is individuals between 19 and 44,” said Hetherington. “Sixty percent of them have a postsecondary education and 50 percent of them have full time employment. They’ve done everything right. They went to school, they got a job.”
Food Banks Canada in a 2025 report to the Commons human resources committee said more than a quarter of young adults surveyed, 28 percent, skip meals. “Twenty-eight percent of young adults said they skipped a meal due to lack of money and 20 percent had accessed food from a community organization at no cost, nearly double the rate for the general population,” said the Food Banks Canada Brief. “These indicators point to a heightened level of economic strain among youth.”
Ottawa prioritizes global CO2 emissions over hungry Canadians. Why?
The agriculture department acknowledged food bank data indicating users who rely on charity to eat are no longer exclusively unemployed. “About 40 percent of households using food banks rely on social assistance as their main source of income,” said Food Prices.
“However the share of households who rely on employment income has risen since the pandemic.”
The note estimated more than a quarter of Canadians are unable to keep up with food prices: “25.5 percent of people, or 10 million, reported living in food insecure households,” it said. The figure was drawn from Canadian Income Surveys.
The memo was written following May 28 testimony at the Commons finance committee that a tenth of Greater Toronto Area residents ate at a food bank. “Last year visits to food banks in Toronto reached a record of 4.1 million visits,” said Neil Hetheringon, CEO of the Daily Bread Food Bank. “For context, it took us 28 years to get to 1,000,000 visits, two years to get to 2,000,000 visits, one year to get to 3,000,000 visits and here we are now at 4,100,000 visits. We now feed 1 in 10 Torontonians.”
The statistics were “staggering,” said Hetherington. The Daily Bread network distributes goods through 214 food banks and programs.
“Have you seen any change in the demographics?” asked Conservative MP Connie Cody (Cambridge, Ont.). “There are some patterns in the demographics,” replied Hetherington.
“The one I think is most alarming is that the highest growth rate right now is individuals between 19 and 44,” said Hetherington. “Sixty percent of them have a postsecondary education and 50 percent of them have full time employment. They’ve done everything right. They went to school, they got a job.”
Food Banks Canada in a 2025 report to the Commons human resources committee said more than a quarter of young adults surveyed, 28 percent, skip meals. “Twenty-eight percent of young adults said they skipped a meal due to lack of money and 20 percent had accessed food from a community organization at no cost, nearly double the rate for the general population,” said the Food Banks Canada Brief. “These indicators point to a heightened level of economic strain among youth.”
