NDP: Ford failing Ontarians as food bank use soars through the roof

QUEEN’S PARK – NDP MPPs issued the following response to a Feed Ontario report that tracked a 38 per cent increase in food bank usage since last year – the single largest increase they’ve ever recorded:

“This increase in food bank use is staggering and should be ringing alarm bells in Ford’s office,” said MPP Bhutila Karpoche (Parkdale—High Park), Official Opposition critic for Affordability. “When people with full time jobs are relying on food banks, you have to ask who this government is really working for. Ford has the power to strengthen social safety nets and help make life more affordable, but he’s completely abdicated his responsibility.”

“Food banks are often the last resort of people who are teetering on the edge of homelessness and poverty,” said MPP Lisa Gretzky, NDP critic for Poverty and Homelessness reduction. “Ontarians deserve to have a government that will have their backs, not one that’s pushing people to the brink. As the report highlights, legislated poverty has long been the driver of food bank usage. With social assistance rates remaining lower than the poverty line, the Ford government continues to legislate poverty in Ontario.”

QUICK FACTS

• Feed Ontario reported that 800,000 people in Ontario accessed food banks between April 2022 and March 2023
• Two out of five people were accessing a food bank for the first time
• One out of six people were employed – but their wages weren’t enough to cover food costs
• An FOI request from last week found that the Conservatives even see a new federal benefit to help people make ends meet as an opportunity to slash ODSP & OW benefits