New report from Ont Assoc of Food Banks
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Key Facts from Ontario Hunger Report 2010
• 402,000 Ontarians a month were forced to turn to food banks in 2010, up
sharply from 374,000 in 2009
• Since the recession hit in 2008, food bank use in Ontario has grown by
28 percent, an unprecedented increase
• In 2010, 3.1 percent of the Ontario population accessed food banks, making the
province of Ontario the third most intensive user of food bank services, after
Newfoundland and Labrador and Manitoba
• In an effort to balance fixed incomes with rising costs of living, more Ontario
seniors are turning to food banks to make it through the month – 12 percent of
the adults served were over 65 in 2010, up from 4 percent in 2009.
Seniors also make great use of meal programs offered by food banks
Profile of Food Bank Clients
FAMILY BACKGROUND
• Single adults now comprise the largest proportion of the population served by
food banks – 38 percent in 2010, up from 26 percent in 2002
• Single parent families are the second largest group served -- 30 percent in 2010
down from a peak of 39 percent established in 2003
• Two parent families come third. They accounted for 22 percent of food bank
clients in 2010, down from 27 percent in 2002
• Children and youth under the age of 18 account for 37 percent of the population
served by food banks in March 2010, down from 40 percent in 2000.
• 15 percent of food bank clients were new Canadians (have lived in Canada
less than 10 years) in 2010 down from 29 percent in 2007
• Aboriginal clients also declined over time to 7 percent in 2010
SOURCES OF INCOME
• Most Ontario households using food banks depended on social assistance
(45 percent) in 2010. But this was much lower than the 65 percent in 2000.
• In contrast, the number of households receiving Ontario Disability Program
(ODSP) benefits increased over the decade from 14 percent in 2000 to 23
percent in 2010
• Over 5 percent of the households served relied on pension income, about the
same as in 2001
• Only 11 percent of households had employment income in 2010, about the
same as the early 2000s; access to Employment Insurance (EI) fluctuated
through the decade, hitting a low of 2.6 percent of households in 2008 and a
peak of 5 percent in 2004
• In rural areas (communities under 10,000), 9 percent received EI benefits and
40 percent received social assistance, while 22 percent accessed
Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) benefits
HOUSING
• 64 percent of people served by food banks in 2010 lived in market rental
accommodation; 27 percent lived in social housing. Only 4.4 percent owned
their own homes
• Comparing the Ontario average with rural areas, homeownership was higher
in rural settings (17 percent of food bank clients), but rental accommodation
was lower, at 51 percent in 2010. And more people were living with family or
friends (6 percent rural vs. 2 percent for the province as a whole)
Jacquie Maund
Coordinator, Ontario Campaign 2000
Coordinator, Social Reform, Family Service Toronto
www.campaign2000.cawww.familyservicetoronto.org
