Statement from NDP MPP Cindy Forster on increase use of food banks in Ontario “It is entirely unacceptable that hundreds of thousands of Ontarians continue to live in hunger because too many families can’t make ends meet. Nothing could be more important that putting food on the table, but today’s alarming report from Food Banks Canada reveals that food bank usage in Ontario is 19.2 percent higher today than it was in 2008. Six years after the recession – and the introduction of the Liberal government’s first Poverty Reduction Strategy – poverty and hunger should not be increasing, yet more households are relying on food banks this year than at any time in recent memory. “Hunger holds our province back. This report offers startling evidence of the urgent need to get serious about breaking the cycle of poverty. The Liberals should start by immediately announcing firm targets and timelines to reduce poverty, hunger, and homelessness – which are entirely missing from this government’s new Poverty Reduction Strategy.” Background from HungerCount 2014: • The number of households accessing food banks in Ontario has reached 175,954 this year, compared to just 137,491 in 2008 – the highest level in at least seven years. • 374,698 Ontarians access food banks monthly in 2014, compared to 314,258 in 2008 – an increase of over 60,000 individuals or 19.2 percent. • 54.2 percent of Ontario food banks surveyed are reporting increased demand this year over last. • 35 percent of food bank users are children under age eighteen – a figure consistent over the past seven years, and further evidence that the Liberal government failed to achieve its target to reduce child poverty by 25 percent in five years. - 30 -
Posted on: Tue, 04 Nov 2014 21:37:01 +0000
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