Food insecurity in Mississauga has worsened sharply in recent years, according to a new report that lays bare how many residents are struggling to put food on the table. Data compiled by Food Banks Mississauga shows the rate of food insecurity has climbed from one in 37 residents to one in 16, a steep increase that has turned hunger into a daily reality for a growing share of the city.
The numbers help explain the gap that many families are falling into. Food for a family of four is now expected to cost more than 17,000 dollars a year. Yet the average household turning to a food bank in Mississauga brings in just 24,000 dollars a year, leaving little room for rent, utilities and the other costs of daily life on top of groceries.
The strain is not new to local officials. Two years ago, Mississauga declared food insecurity an emergency, and the city says that emergency is still in effect. The latest figures suggest the problem has only deepened in the time since, rather than easing as residents and advocates had hoped it might.
How people use food banks has also changed dramatically. Where families once turned to a food bank three or four times a year, usually during a sudden financial crisis, many are now visiting 11 or 12 times a year. For them, as one advocate put it, every single month has become that kind of emergency rather than a rare exception.
Behind the statistics are difficult choices being made at home. Advocates note that parents often defer their own food intake to feed their children, meaning that when kids go hungry, the adults are likely suffering even more. One man who relies on a food bank, and who did not want to appear on camera for fear of being stigmatized, described it as a lifeline and called on the government to do more for people in his situation.
Some relief is on the way at the federal level. Starting in July, the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit will replace the GST and HST credit and increase payments by 25 percent for five years, a measure aimed at helping eligible Canadians cope with the rising cost of goods. Advocates called it a positive first step while warning there is still a long way to go.
The report frames Mississauga as part of a much larger picture. Those working on the issue stress that it is not confined to one city or region but stretches across the entire country, and that lasting solutions will require tackling the root causes of why food has become so expensive. The data, they say, is meant to help shape the policies needed to respond.