Hunger Action Month 2020

Hunger Action Month is a nation-wide campaign that takes place during the month of September. Its purpose is to raise awareness of hunger in our communities, and to take action in four key ways: Educate. Advocate. Volunteer. Donate.

Here’s how you can get involved:

Educate

Learn more about hunger and poverty in Toronto, and Ontario, by reading and sharing the resources below:

1. Hunger Lives Here: Risks and Challenges Faced by Food Bank Clients During COVID-19 provides quantitative and qualitative data about the experience of hunger and poverty in Toronto during COVID-19. Most importantly, the report provides concrete recommendations for all levels of government to prioritize poverty reduction in economic recovery.
2. Who’s Hungry Report 2019 is a cornerstone of Daily Bread’s advocacy work. To create the reports, trained volunteers conduct face-to-face interviews with over 1,400 food bank clients at nearly 51 member agencies, collecting demographic data as well as information about the day-to-day experience of living with hunger.
3. Cost of Poverty in Ontario is a Feed Ontario report that examines the cost of poverty in a very different way. Instead of looking at program costs associated with low-income individuals, it locates the cost of poverty in the loss of tax revenue and in the increased health and justice system expenses that economies, provinces, and nations incur by maintaining people in poverty.
4. Interactive Hunger Map allows users to compare food bank use and data by riding across the province. In developing this map, Feed Ontario was able to confirm what we anecdotally always knew: hunger exists in every electoral riding in Ontario.
5. Impossible Choices is an online interactive tool created by Food Banks Canada intended to help participants better understand the decisions someone facing hunger might have to make.

Advocate

While CERB and the eviction moratorium provided temporary relief during the height of the pandemic, many renters are now facing unsustainable rent arrears and repayment plans that put even greater stress on already tight budgets. These challenges were further compounded by the passing of Bill 184 this summer, which increased the risk of eviction.

Not only is this likely to increase food bank use across the province, as
adults and families under enormous financial pressures turn to food banks to make ends meet, but also significantly increases the risk of homelessness as we head into the fall and winter months.

Many politicians may not be aware of many of the issues facing food banks, so Hunger Action Month is a great opportunity to inform them about hunger and poverty in their ridings, and ensure that working towards solutions to these issues is a top priority.

Volunteer

Daily Bread Food Bank volunteers help us prepare meals for shelters, sort and pack non-perishable food donations, work in our on-site food bank, and keep Daily Bread running smoothly.

We are always looking to connect with teams and individuals to create meaningful partnerships and opportunities that will have a positive impact in our community.

To learn more about how you can get involved and volunteer with Daily Bread Food Bank, click here.

Donate

Poverty continues to rise in our city and thousands of families and individuals are having to make difficult choices to make ends meet. As we continue to feel the impacts of COVID-19, the need for food support in our city is greater than ever.  Your donation will ensure that the most vulnerable among us continue to have access the food.