Poverty is the root cause of food insecurity. Many food bank clients live in deep poverty, defined as having a household disposable income below 75% of the official poverty line. Deep poverty is significant, lasting poverty which limits ability to access basic necessities, including food.
Daily Bread Food Bank’s advocacy pillars focus on tackling deep poverty, food access, affordable housing, and economic and social resiliency.
New Report: A Decade of Deep Poverty – 2022
A Decade of Deep Poverty takes a deep dive into twelve years of data from Who’s Hungry to look at income and poverty among food bank users. The results are disconcerting and compelling.
Canada’s official poverty line is a statistical calculation of what the basics of life cost: housing, food, transportation, clothing, and a bit more. So, in Toronto, the minimum income needed to live a life of basic dignity, would be $24,720. One would be considered in “deep poverty” if your income was less than $18,540. The median income of a food bank client is $12,732.
In plain language, even if the income of a typical food bank user was doubled, they would still be in poverty. In 2021, people’s monthly incomes to cover everything was $1,106 a month (or $1,070, adjusted to 2020 dollars). In fact, a large number would still be in deep poverty.
Other examples of our work:
- Coalition and advisory council memberships: Ontario Social Assistance Review Advisory Council, ODSP Action Coalition, City of Toronto’s Social Health Advisory Committee, Defend Disability
- Advocating for emergency financial benefits for people receiving social assistance during COVID-19
Providing input on Ontario’s new 2020 poverty reduction strategy - Developing a Material Deprivation Index as a measure of poverty in Ontario