Viral video of hundreds in line at Fort York Food Bank not surprising to operators

Almost every day of the week, hundreds of people wait hours in lineups that span an entire city block to collect food at Toronto’s Fort York Food Bank.

A recent video showing the daily lineups went viral online, but the food bank’s operator tells CityNews she is not surprised by it.

“Unless you live in this neighbourhood and run by and see our lines like this, it is shocking to see what poverty looks like in our city,” said Executive Director Julie Lejeune.

Lejeune has been with the Fort York Food Bank for nearly a decade and describes the situation as critical, saying the number of clients has tripled since 2019.

“We are serving 3,200 people every week that just went up from last month,” said Lejeune. “It was 3,000. The month before, it was 2,500, so we are seeing a month-to-month increase in the people we serve.”

She said up to 20 new people are walking through these doors daily, from students to families to seniors and newcomers.

“People that arrived in Toronto two days ago [are coming]. Food is the first necessity,” Lejeune added. “As a food bank, we should be working out of the business yet. At this rate, we’ve been here for 25 years and will be here for another 25 years.”

A group of volunteers called the Bike Brigade, who help food banks like the Fort York Food Bank reach more people who are homebound, was born in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

At this point, they’ve now made 100,000 deliveries.

“We are seeing a lot more need. Part of it, too, is inflation,” said one of the volunteers, Chad Mohr.

“Like everybody else, groceries are more expensive and harder to get, and the lines are getting longer, making it much more of a barrier for some people to get their own food.”

“We’re the biggest, the busiest food bank in the downtown area, but everyone’s struggling. Everyone’s numbers are going up,” added Lejeune.

The Daily Bread Food Bank is the largest in the city and supports other charities across Toronto. It used to see 65,000 visits every single month. That number has now quadrupled.

“Imagine if 270,000 Torontonians — the number of people using food banks — didn’t have electricity,” said CEO Neil Hetherington. “We would send the army in, we would mobilize the community, we would take action, and we’re choosing not to do that. Those numbers continue to grow.”

“I’m certainly not surprised [by the video]. I see those lineups every single day. But that is an outward sign of a systemic issue,” added Hetherington.

Hetherington has been calling on the Ford government to treat this situation as a crisis, saying the recent hike to Ontario Disability Support Payments is not nearly enough.

“It’s tough to make ends meet in the city. Rent is extremely high in our city. If you’re on Ontario Works Ontario Disability, you literally can’t make ends meet. The Food Bank is a stopgap; we can bridge that gap weekly for people.”

And as Toronto gears up to elect a new leader, he’s also setting his sights on what the city can do.

“[We need] affordable housing, so with whatever powers the city government has to make sure land goes to housing first,” said Hetherington.

“Wherever available, we want to make sure they are partners with Daily Bread and advocate the province to make sure that disability payments rise to make sure you are not legislated into poverty if you are disabled.”

“I’m hopeful that every elected official sees that video and chooses to act,” Hetherington said.

Lejeune echoed those thoughts, acknowledging that more housing support is a plus.

“Employment, helping people to provide for themselves rather than having to come to us,” she said.

The Daily Bread Food Bank hopes to keep poverty front and centre on the campaign trail and will host the first Toronto mayoral debate on May 15.

Ana Bailão, Brad Bradford, Olivia Chow, and Josh Matlow have all assured that they will participate. Mitzie Hunter and Mark Saunders have been invited but have not been confirmed.

The uninvited candidates can submit a 250-word written statement about themselves, why they’re running for office and their priorities.