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Who's hungry: 2008 profile of hunger in the GTA

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Author: 
Daily Food Bank
Format: 
Report
Publication Date: 
24 Jun 2008

Link to report PDF no longer available 

Description: The 2008 Who's Hungry report has four main goals: to provide a statistical overview of food bank clients in the GTA; to understand why people need to use food banks; to challenge some persistent myths and stereotypes of food bank clients; and finally, as the provincial government begins to put a poverty reduction strategy into place, to inform the process. From April 2007 to March 2008, the total number of people accessing food banks in the GTA is 952,883, a 5% increase from the previous year. This is the eighth straight year of increased use. The total food bank use in the City of Toronto is up from 744,232 to 799,315, a 7% increase from the previous year. Conversely, the 905 region has seen a decrease of 5%, from 161,311 in 2007 to 153,568 in 2008. Findings include: • Stress levels were highest amongst single parents, and lack of access to child care was cited by 44% of single parents as preventing them from taking a job. • Clients pays an average of 77% of their income on housing alone, which crowds out money available for other basic necessities such as food. • One positive noted in the report is the declining proportion of children accessing food banks (34% in 2008 versus 37% in 2003) along with a decline in child hunger: 13% of children went hungry at least one day a week this year compared to 27% in 2003.

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