Taking action at Queen’s Park on World Hunger Day

May 28 marks World Hunger Day, a time to reaffirm our collective commitment to ending hunger and poverty. Food is not a privilege — it is a human right, yet across Canada, millions are going hungry. 

According to PROOF’s analysis of the 2023 Canadian Income Survey, 25.5% of people in the 10 provinces — approximately 10 million individuals, including 2.5 million children — lived in food-insecure households in 2024. This marks the third consecutive year of rising food insecurity and a new record high. 

These nationwide numbers reflect what’s happening in our own community. In 2024, Daily Bread member food banks recorded 3.75 million client visits — more than 4.5 times the number before the pandemic. 

Canadians are being pushed to the brink by rising costs. In April 2025, grocery prices increased by 3.8%, marking the third consecutive month where food inflation outpaced overall inflation, deepening the strain on already-tight household budgets. 

A day of action

Today, food bankers from across Ontario gathered at Queen’s Park to deliver a united message as part of Feed Ontario’s Day of Action: food banks cannot shoulder this crisis alone. 

Daily Bread Food Bank met with MPPs from all parties, along with Premier Doug Ford and Michael Parsa, Minister of Children, Community and Social Services of Ontario, to discuss the urgent need to tackle the key drivers of food insecurity: unaffordable housing, inadequate income supports and lack of decent jobs. 

We thank every MPP for listening to us and engaging on this critical issue. 

Ending hunger requires action from all levels of government 

We’re calling on all levels of government to work together to reduce poverty and food insecurity: 

• Income supports: Raise social assistance rates above the poverty line so that everyone can access basic necessities. 

• Affordable housing: Increase affordable housing and rent-geared-to-income housing as well as protect these developments so that housing remains affordable. 

• Decent work: Create stable, living-wage jobs and systems that support workers through economic uncertainty. 

At Daily Bread Food Bank, we remain steadfast in our mission: to ensure no one goes hungry. We will continue to work alongside our partners and advocate for the policy changes needed to end this crisis. 

On World Hunger Day — and every day — we call on governments at all levels to act. Because everyone deserves the dignity of a full plate. 

Join our call! Use our online form to send a letter to your representatives urging them to prioritize poverty reduction now.