Some downtown food banks closing due to soaring rent
Posted April 27, 2017 5:48 pm.
Last Updated April 27, 2017 7:33 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The soaring cost of living and working in downtown Toronto is now affecting a vital service in our city — three or four food banks have recently closed their doors, partly due to skyrocketing rent.
“It’s ridiculous,” said Kate Halsey, food coordinator for the Yonge Street Mission. “I really think having that be the cause of food banks shutting down — I think something needs to change if that’s the case.
“It makes me mad, to be honest.”
Meanwhile, a Daily Bread Food Bank report found families in need are also leaving downtown Toronto in search of affordable housing.
In the first few months of 2017, the number of people using food banks in Scarborough jumped by 24 per cent. Demand is also rising in Etobicoke and North York — and the demographic is changing.
Daily Bread spokesman Richard Matern said 10 years ago, one-quarter of clients had a post-secondary education. Now, one-third does.
“In many cases, it has to do more with the labour market, the [precariousness] of work,” he said. “Not so much lack of education is making people vulnerable anymore. It’s the lack of available stable employment.”
The food banks that continue to operate downtown report also being squeezed. Staff at the Yonge Street Mission on Gerrard Street has noticed an increase in the number of people using the service
