Food insecurity has rarely been a larger news story in Toronto than it is right now. For good reason: Grocery inflation rates hit a 41-year high of 10.8% in August, and the cost of living in Toronto continues to outpace increases in wages and social supports. As a result, Daily Bread Food Bank’s network of food programs is seeing the highest number of monthly visits in its history.

Toronto Life recently interviewed our CEO, Neil Hetherington, to discuss this sharp rise in need and what policymakers and the public can do to reverse it. They talked about how we got to this point — including the extremes Daily Bread went to in order to serve through the pandemic — and how much we’re distributing now to meet soaring demand.

“We have to stand up and clearly state that the values we espouse are visibly and painfully not being lived out when we have this many people turning to food banks,” Neil said in the interview.

We’re thankful to Toronto Life for the feature and opportunity to highlight the food insecurity crisis and the actions needed to end hunger.

Read the full interview here.