Food costs expected to increase in 2020

Two separate reports indicate that hunger is an increasing problem in the province and the use of food banks is on the rise.

Hunger Report 2019 produced by Feed Ontario estimates that 510,438 people accessed a food bank between April 1, 2018 and March 31, 2019 — an increase of 8,848 people over the previous period.

Feed Ontario (formerly the Ontario Association of Food Banks) is a network of 130 direct member food banks and more than 1,100 affiliate hunger relief agencies across the province.  

A second report, produced jointly by Dalhousie University and the University of Guelph, is forecasting that there will be a 2 to 4 per cent increase in food prices next year.  The increased food costs could further drive up the use of food banks across the country.

This report predicts the annual cost of food for the average Canadian family will jump to more than $12,000 in 2020 — an increase of just under $500 over 2019.

Robert Fisher, an Ontario political specialist, posted his opinion on Twitter.

 “A disgrace that food bank use is now at an ‘unprecedented’ level and it’s nowhere on the agenda or, anyone else’s it would appear.”