Visits to Toronto’s food banks have skyrocketed beyond previous records, and have more than doubled since 2021.

Between 2010 and 2020, the rates were consistent at just under 1 million visits per year. But according to the latest data from Daily Bread Food Bank, visits surged to 1.4 million visits in 2021, 1.6 million in 2022, and a staggering 2.53 million between April 2022 and March 2023. 

“For the first time, food bank visits in Toronto have surpassed the 2 million mark, with 2.53 million visits between April 1, 2022, and March 31, 2023. Only two short years have passed since we reported in 2021 that food bank visits had surpassed 1 million visits for the first time,” the Daily Bread Food Bank’s update reads.

The report from Daily Bread Food Bank further notes, “In every single part of the city, food bank visits have increased well beyond the rate of population growth.” 

Despite three new food banks recently opening in Toronto, amounting to a 4% increase in the overall size of the network, food banks across the city continue to face significant pressures.

COVID lockdowns, cost-of-living crisis

A number of factors could contribute to the exponential rise in food bank visits over the last three years.

According to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), 62% of small businesses last year in Canada were still dealing with pandemic-related debt, averaging $105,000 per business, largely stemming from government mandated lockdowns and restrictions. 

At the time, CFIB reported that 59% of these businesses did not expect to recover fully in 2023, and 86% were grappling with high inflation and rising operational costs.

Additionally, Toronto and other major Canadian cities have seen rent prices become unaffordable for many, so high that even some active Canadian Armed Forces service members are living out of their cars while stationed in Canada.

A True North report last November also indicated that a Toronto-area food bank said that 95% of their visitors weren’t born in Canada.