Children increasingly represented among food bank clients
Toronto’s food banks recorded more than 4.1 million visits for the second straight year, as a new Daily Bread Food Bank report points to a particularly steep rise in food insecurity among children. The organization’s latest Who’s Hungry report says more than one in eight children living in the city now rely on food banks, nearly twice the proportion reported in 2022.
Three years ago, the report said one in 15 Toronto children depended on food banks. The latest findings place children among the most overrepresented groups using the city’s food support network, a shift Daily Bread’s chief executive Neil Hetherington described as alarming. The organization supports roughly 220 food banks across Toronto, where staff and volunteers are dealing with sustained pressure on supplies and services.
“In one day, everything can change.”
That reality is familiar to Volodymyr Kravchuk, a Toronto resident who visits Daily Bread while trying to provide for his two young sons. He said he looks for basics such as milk, eggs, potatoes and carrots to help ensure his children receive adequate nutrition. Kravchuk and his family arrived in Canada from Ukraine in September 2023, and he said rebuilding their lives has included difficulty finding stable employment despite holding degrees in psychology and marketing.
Parents cutting meals to feed their children
The report describes the choices some parents are making to keep food on the table. Sixty-seven per cent of parents surveyed said they had skipped a meal so their children could eat. In addition, 17 per cent reported that a child in their household had gone hungry at least once a week in 2026.
| Measure | Reported figure |
|---|---|
| Food bank visits in Toronto | More than 4.1 million |
| Children relying on food banks | More than one in eight |
| Parents who gave up a meal | 67 per cent |
| Households where a child went hungry weekly | 17 per cent |
Hetherington said the growing number of children needing food assistance is occurring alongside pressure on working families. He characterized the burden on food banks as severe, saying that the increase is being felt throughout the network. The report also says one in 10 Torontonians continues to rely regularly on food banks.
Cost pressures continue across the city
Daily Bread said the demand is being shaped by the cost-of-living crisis and the ongoing tariff dispute between Canada and the United States. Those pressures affect both the people seeking help and the organizations working to supply it. Hetherington said Toronto has managed to meet the need so far, but the continuing level of demand presents an ongoing challenge for food banks serving neighbourhoods across the city.
For Kravchuk, food assistance is not limited to a single emergency. He sometimes volunteers at Daily Bread while also relying on the organization for essential groceries. He said job loss or a sudden change in household finances can quickly make it difficult for a family to afford food, regardless of its previous circumstances.
- Daily Bread reported more than 4.1 million food bank visits in Toronto for the second consecutive year.
- More than one in eight Toronto children now rely on food banks, compared with one in 15 in 2022.
- Parents report skipping meals and children going hungry as household budgets remain under pressure.
The report’s findings underscore how the city’s food insecurity problem is reaching deeper into households with children, including families connected to the workforce and newcomers rebuilding their lives. As demand remains high, Toronto’s food bank network is being asked to respond not only to immediate hunger, but to the broader financial strain facing residents across the city.
