Food banks across Ontario are facing unprecedented demand — and the biggest surprise isn’t just how many people are turning to them, but who.
A new Food Banks Canada report reveals that a growing number of working Canadians are now relying on food banks to get by, marking what the organization calls a “massive shift” in the country’s fight against hunger.
According to the 2025 HungerCount Report, released on October 27, food bank visits in Ontario have more than doubled in six years, reaching 763,756 visits in March 2025 alone. Nationally, 2.16 million Canadians sought food assistance that month — twice as many as in 2019.
While 40 per cent of food bank users still depend on social or disability assistance, the share of employed people using food banks has skyrocketed. “One in five food bank clients in 2025 are employed, which is a massive change compared to a few years ago,” said Food Banks Canada spokesperson Debra Quinn. In 2019, only one in 10 food bank users were employed; in Ontario today, that figure sits at 14.2 per cent.
Experts say inflation, soaring rents, and stagnant wages are squeezing workers like never before. “More people are becoming food-insecure and trapped in poverty,” the organization warned. “The data shows that employed people are using food banks at a staggering rate.”
The charity says poverty and hunger are becoming “normalized” in Canada — a dangerous trend that volunteers and donations alone can’t fix. It’s urging the federal government to take bold legislative action, including expanding Employment Insurance to cover gig, part-time, and self-employed workers, and improving support for older workers displaced by layoffs and trade disruptions.
Housing remains the single biggest factor driving food insecurity. The report found 73 per cent of food bank clients are renters, with low-income households spending an average of 66 per cent of their disposable income on shelter. “Renters in market-rate housing, especially racialized individuals and recent newcomers living in large urban centres, are particularly vulnerable,” the report noted.
Food Banks Canada says 83 per cent of food banks nationwide identified affordable housing as the top policy priority to reduce hunger.
“The numbers are heartbreaking,” said Kirstin Beardsley, CEO of Food Banks Canada. “Poverty and hunger are becoming a normal part of life for too many Canadians — and that’s something we must refuse to accept.”
The full HungerCount 2025 report is available at foodbankscanada.ca/hunger-in-canada/hungercount.