Zero Hunger: Sounding the Alarm on Food Insecurity

On 20 May 2025, the United Nations Association in Canada Toronto Region Branch (UNACTO) convened a powerful webinar titled “Zero Hunger: Sounding the Alarm on Food Insecurity”. Special guest speakers included Tatjana Radovanovic, Senior Director of Community and Stakeholder Relations at the Canadian Red Cross, and Rose Butler, Interim Vice President of Research and Advocacy at the Daily Bread Food Bank. Focusing on Sustainable Development Goal 2: Zero Hunger and the United Nations’ broader 2030 Agenda, the webinar highlighted frontline experts and advocates to explore Toronto’s growing food insecurity crisis. It addressed the main challenges preventing access to sufficient, nutritious food for households across the Greater Toronto Area and investigated grassroots solutions and policy interventions that can break the cycle of poverty and hunger.

Food insecurity is an escalating crisis not only on a global scale but also across Canada. UNACTO moderator Kassandra Barteaux noted that the City of Toronto has declared a state of emergency regarding food insecurity, calling for immediate action on income support, affordable housing and expanded school food programmes.

Tatjana Radovanovic defined food insecurity as a growing humanitarian problem, stating, “it’s an issue not just in emergencies, and it’s not just abroad; it’s crept into our neighbourhoods in Toronto. We see it day-to-day…Behind every statistic and every family, it’s a child. It’s a senior facing impossible choices every day. At its core, food security really is a matter of dignity, justice and health”.

She emphasized the need for equitable, reliable access to safe, nutritious and culturally appropriate food, warning that barriers such as poverty, conflict, climate change, disabilities and systemic inequalities exacerbate the risk of food insecurity. Where hunger exists, displacement, stress and social instability often follow.

Rose Butler provided a sobering statistic, stating that almost ten million people in Canada are food insecure. She emphasized that those in need of food banks do not fit the stereotypes many envision. The Daily Bread Food Bank has recently observed individuals and families dealing with severe or chronic food insecurity.

“People are missing meals. They’re reducing their food intake; their health is really at risk. We have a network of over 200 food banks and meal programmes across Toronto, and I can tell you we’re seeing food bank usage in every neighbourhood in Toronto, and the need grows”.

Butler shared that nearly 50 per cent of Daily Bread Food Bank clients live in households where someone is employed, 60 per cent hold a diploma or degree, 31 per cent are students and 80 per cent are renters. Clients who once visited food banks sporadically due to job loss are now heavily reliant on these services to meet other financial needs, such as rent and bills. 

Rose Butler

“…this is not just an urban issue; it’s rural, it’s in every community, it’s in every neighbourhood, and it has to do with those intersectionalities…inadequate housing, inadequate wages and other pieces that are really pushing the crisis into levels we’ve never seen before”.  

Radovanovic shared real stories from clients in Toronto to emphasize the importance of understanding the intersectional nature of food insecurity. She described an elderly woman in Scarborough who suffers from chronic illness and uses a walker. Unable to access her local food banks due to mobility issues and lack of public transport routes, she survives on a small pension that barely covers her rent and medication. A mobile food bank programme delivers food directly to her doorstep. Radovanovic used this story to highlight food insecurity from a broader perspective, showcasing the intersections of poverty, isolation and health.

She also recounted the story of a young couple with two children in North York. The husband works in long-term care, and his wife works in retail, but they find themselves relying on food banks by the end of each month.

“There’s nothing left after rent, daycare and bills are paid. So, by the end of the third week of each month, they rely on the food bank, and that is really how they bring food back to the table. They contribute to our communities, but the math doesn’t work for them anymore,” Radovanovic said.

Tatjana Radovanovic

“Food insecurity doesn’t just look like hunger. It looks like stress and shame…and that’s a really difficult place to be”.

She affirmed that, alongside the intersections of gender, race, age, income and geography, Canada has seen a growing number of climate-related emergencies, including floods and extreme heat. When these crises hit, access to food becomes a primary humanitarian concern, exposing existing vulnerabilities.

Emergency preparedness and health equity depend heavily on partnerships with organizations like the Canadian Red Cross, the Daily Bread Food Bank and other local or national community partners. These organizations aim to restore dignity and build resilience through culturally appropriate food security initiatives. Radovanovic stated,

“Food insecurity is not a personal failure. Unless we address the root causes (income, housing, access and equity), we will keep seeing more and more people fall through the cracks”.

Butler discussed the challenges posed by rising living costs, increased rent, unaffordable housing and stagnant wages, attributing the surge in food bank usage to these intersecting systemic drivers of food insecurity. The rise of gig work, characterized by a lack of unions, benefits and stability, keeps families trapped in a cycle of poverty, prompting regular reliance on food banks. This issue is particularly severe for individuals suffering from substance abuse and visible and non-visible disabilities.

“They’re relying on family and friends, and that’s the hidden homelessness. They’re not actually living stably, but we don’t really capture that”, Butler said.

She also noted that Toronto’s inadequate income support means that most food bank clients live on approximately CAD 1,200 per month, while the city’s poverty line is nearly CAD 2,400. “…after they pay for rent…and utilities, they have about seven dollars left”.

Butler raised concerns about Toronto’s rising rents and renovictions, stating that people are often pushed out of stable homes. “Some people don’t realize you lose your housing benefit when you become unhoused. How are you ever supposed to get housing again?”

Both Butler and Radovanovic emphasized the importance of meeting people where they are. Policymakers must highlight community-led and grassroots solutions designed to restore nutrition and dignity. Radovanovic discussed a new pilot programme in partnership with the Rexdale Community Health Centre called Meals on Wheels, a mobile food bank that provides home delivery for individuals and families unable to cook or prepare meals.

“We have started to test some programmes…primarily working with Caribbean and Somali communities. The beauty of this programme is that we are delivering culturally appropriate and freshly prepared meals”.

Using community elders and family heads, the pilot programme co-creates menus that reflect the identity and needs of clients. “This is a powerful example of how food can nourish more than [our bodies]; it nourishes a sense of belonging, tradition and pride”.

Radovanovic pointed out that this programme addresses not only food insecurity but also affordability.

“Food insecurity is not always visible. It’s a senior skipping meals to afford medication or the neighbour down the hall who silently rations food so their kids can eat”, she noted. The goal of grassroots organizations, she said, is to catch people before they fall through the cracks.

While Radovanovic and Butler recognized the importance of robust and sustainable community-driven solutions, they also highlighted the necessity of policy change, advocacy and civic engagement.

Butler reminded participants that food banks are not a long-term solution to food insecurity. She asserted,

“Every food bank visit is a policy failure”.

She called for strong poverty reduction strategies and urged policymakers to take a closer look at networks and communities to ask how to elevate the voices that matter.

“How can we activate and bring people together to push for systemic change?” Butler asked.

Both panellists demanded action and encouraged people to call on their elected officials for change and security.

Are you looking to support your community and combat food insecurity? Consider volunteering at a local food bank or hosting an awareness event at your community centre. Support policies that address income inequality, climate justice and student nutrition programmes. And, of course, don’t forget to donate if you have the means.

A recording of the webinar is available for those who missed the live event.

Would you like to learn more? Read the Daily Bread Food Bank’s ‘Who’s Hungry Report 2024’.

Edited by Ali Shahrukh Pracha