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Who’s Hungry Report 2025 – Record-Breaking Hunger
In partnership, North York Harvest Food Bank and Daily Bread Food Bank have released Who’s Hungry 2025— an annual profile of food insecurity and poverty in Toronto.
Last December, the City of Toronto declared food insecurity an emergency. From April 2024-March 2025, we saw 4.1 million food bank visits across our city — an 18% increase over last year and a 340% increase since 2019.
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The surge in food bank use from 2021-2024 was driven by new clients, but in 2025 we see a shift: People are relying on food banks more frequently, and for longer periods of time.
Patterns of food bank visits show that food insecurity is not only growing but becoming harder to escape.
Key findings from the report:
- 4.1M food bank visits in Toronto between April 2024 – March 2025
- 59% of clients are existing users
- 31% have a disability
- 1 in 4 clients are children
- Nearly 1 in 5 (18%) households with children reported that their children went hungry at least once a week in the past three months
- More than half of clients (53%) missed a meal to pay for something else
- 88% live in unaffordable housing
- The rate of clients experiencing homelessness has increased 19% since last year
Our city is at a breaking point, and so are our food banks. Food banks cannot fix food insecurity, and we can’t keep up with this demand.
We need every level of government to come to the table and finally take meaningful action to address this crisis. Our clients have made it clear what they need:
- Affordable housing
- A higher minimum wage
- Increased social assistance rates
Emergency food programs are shouldering a crisis that is becoming permanent. Charity alone cannot and should not be the solution to poverty and food insecurity.
Every visit to a food bank is a stark reminder that policies at all levels of government are falling short. The social safety net that once protected us has been weakened, leaving our friends, neighbours, coworkers, and classmates behind.
What can you do?
- Read the full report, available Here
- Share the report within your network, and tag your City Councillor, Member of Parliament and Member of Provincial Parliament
- Donate to your local food bank
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