City of Toronto declares food insecurity an emergency
Posted: January 30, 2025
Categories: Food in the News / GoodFoodBites

Image from the Daily Bread Food Bank
Amid a historic hunger crisis, in which more than 1 in 10 Torontonians now rely on food banks, Toronto’s City Council has declared food insecurity an emergency in the City of Toronto.
Introduced by Mayor Olivia Chow and seconded by Councillor Rachel Chernos Lin, this official City Council motion signals a critical acknowledgment of deepening poverty and food insecurity in Toronto.
The motion directs the City to integrate this emergency declaration into major initiatives including the Poverty Reduction Strategy, Food Charter, and School Food Program. It emphasizes expanding the School Food Program to additional schools, with a call for the provincial government to immediately increase funding to achieve a truly universal program.
Additionally, the motion urges the federal and provincial governments to:
- Enhance income support programs such as Employment Insurance, Old Age Security, Ontario Works, Ontario Disability
- Support Program, and the Canada Disability Benefit — including indexing them to inflation.
- Invest in building and maintaining deeply affordable housing.
- Promote decent work through living wages, secure jobs, and workplace benefits.
Please read more from the Daily Bread Food Bank here.