‘Running out of food’: Northern Ont. food bank usage increasing

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Food bank visits soar, a third of users are first-timers in Ontario

Help for the French River Food Bank

Food bank visits hit 8.7M in Ontario; 1 in 4 users employed

Food banks in and around Greater Sudbury are reporting an increase in usage, as outlined in Feed Ontario’s 2025 Hunger Report.

“We’ve reached another all-time record high of more than 1 million people accessing our services over 8.7 million times this past year,” said Carolyn Stewart, Feed Ontario CEO.

“What we’re really seeing is that the affordability crisis is pushing people in Ontario from just getting by to barely holding on.”

This unprecedented demand marks the ninth consecutive year that food bank usage has risen in Ontario.

Stewart told CTV News that the findings not only put immense pressure on local food banks but are also an early warning sign of increasing homelessness and added strain on the healthcare system province wide.

“This year’s report is looking at how food bank use is that predictor for bigger social problems,” she said.

“What the research shows us is that when food bank visits go up, homelessness follows. When food bank visits go up, health care costs increase, and when food bank visits go up, communities feel that pressure.”

Inner-City Home of Sudbury is seeing an increased need.

“It has gotten worse and I think it’s not going to get better for a while if it ever does get better,” said Joe Drago, the organization’s president.

He said Inner City saw 35 families access its services at its New Sudbury location in just a single day last week, totalling 100 people.

“Right now, it’s a common thing that we’re running out of food,” Drago said.

“In the last few weeks, we’ve been forced to go out and buy additional foods.”

The organization said there has also been an increase in first-time users.

“There’s a lot of people that are embarrassed to come here,” said Drago.

“They get to the door, some of them, and they feel so bad. As soon as they come in, they say, you know, we really don’t want to do this, but we have no choice”

The Hunger Report also highlighted a significant shift in the demographics of those seeking assistance.

“One third of those who access our services this year were doing so for the very first time. 30 per cent are children, 30 per cent are people who are living with disabilities and even 25 per cent of those now accessing our services are actually employed,” said Stewart.

She added food banks are increasingly supporting working families, seniors on fixed incomes and newcomers who can no longer keep up with the skyrocketing costs of housing and groceries.

The French River Food Bank, which typically serves about 100 families per month, has seen a 20 per cent increase in demand, with many new faces turning up.

“We’re getting a lot more families than what we had before. It’s because the income is so low and the cost of living so high,” said Gisèle Pageau, the French River Food Bank’s coordinator and the municipality’s mayor.

“There hasn’t been a catch-up since COVID between the two and so there’s been no relief for young parents, with two or three – we have a couple families that have even four kids."

The 2025 Hunger Report concludes with a strong call for immediate action from all levels of government. It stresses the necessity of addressing the underlying systemic issues – particularly housing affordability and income inadequacy – said to be the primary drivers behind these record numbers.