Day 9
500 grams of a pantry staple for one family in Canada

Providing Healthy and Delicious Meals to Families

Food insecurity in Ontario

Food insecurity has been a crisis in Ontario for a long time, yet it hasn’t gained nearly enough attention. Since Canada is often seen as a very wealthy country, people do not realize the extent of the financial hardships that many Canadians face. Due to the pandemic we are seeing an increased number of families forced to make difficult decisions on where to spend their limited income. Individuals are having to choose between keeping a roof over their head or feeding themselves and their loved ones. These are the types of decisions that no person should ever be forced to make. GlobalMedic’s McAntony’s Menu program is extremely cost-efficient and allows us to produce 3-4 times the amount of food compared to what the same value can purchase at retail. Since its launch in 2020, this program has provided more than 1,682,700 pounds of food to families in need.

Necessity

Healthy and delicious meals for food insecure families in Ontario

Activity

GlobalMedic purchases bulk food items and has their volunteers repackage them into ready-to-use, 500g bags for families in Ontario.

Countable effort

Number of bags distributed to families in Ontario

Result

An additional 20,000 nutritious meals provided to families in Ontario

Systemic effect

Increased access to nutritious and culturally appropriate meals for Ontario

Background

Food insecurity has been a prominent issue in Ontario, even prior to the pandemic. Cost of housing and food price increases across the province, particularly in the Greater Toronto Area have contributed to this increase. Over the past ten years, the Low-Income Measure (LIM), which is a common measure of poverty, has dramatically risen due to the rising costs of living in these overpopulated areas. Unfortunately, Ontario residents are forced to suffer and lack access to purchase nutritious foods for themselves and their families. The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened this problem substantially. In January 2022, more than 146,000 Ontarians lost their jobs due to the pandemic. These layoffs directly impacted these families’ ability to purchase nutritious meals, resulting in detriments to their health and well-being. Unfortunately, the pandemic has disproportionately affected low-wage workers and people of colour. This is due to the fact that they are most likely to lose their jobs and source of income due to impacts of COVID-19. Ultimately, these are the groups we are seeing in need of financial assistance and frequently accessing food banks and other food assistance programs. This crisis existed before the COVID-19 pandemic but its impacts have been extensive. Systemic change is required to truly address food insecurity in a long-term manner, but until that happens food insecure Ontarians need support.

The good deed

Our GOOD DEED is a deed that keeps on giving. Each donation goes directly to purchasing bulk food and packaging that is used for our McAntony’s Menu program. Procuring these items gives our volunteers the opportunity to donate their time and repackage this food into ready-to-use 500 g bags of ingredients, including family favorite foods such as green peas, chickpeas, green lentils, rice, and barley. Not only does our GOOD DEED provide families with nutritious ingredients, but it also gives Ontario residents the opportunity to give back to their community and feel gratitude by helping others. These bags are then either put in our own grocery hampers or given to local food banks to provide to their clientele. These ingredients are going directly into the hands of families that need it most. This deed not only supports food insecure families, it also alleviates some of the burden felt by food banks and other food assistance programs.

About Greater Toronto Area, Canada

Our GOOD DEED takes place in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).

Population of the Greater Toronto Area
6,202,225 (2021)

The GTA region generates about a fifth of Canada's GDP.

GTA is home to 40% of Canada's business headquarters.

1 in 8 people in Ontario are food insecure. 3,683,305 visits were made to food banks in Ontario in 2019-20. Black and Indigenous households are 3 times more likely to be food insecure than non-racialized.