Hamilton shows leadership to help end food insecurity crisis

HAMILTON, ON –The City of Hamilton, Halton and Peel Regions successfully brought forward a joint resolution at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) Annual Conference in Calgary, on Saturday, June 8, 2024. The resolution urged the Federal government to provide emergency funding to food banks and food rescue agencies as part of a call to end food insecurity in Canada.

Nrinder Nann, City of Hamilton Ward 3 Councillor, Rory Nisan, Halton Regional Councillor, Sameera Ali, Halton Regional Councillor, Rowena Santos, Peel Region Wards 1 and 5 Councillor and Chris Fonseca, Peel Region Ward 3 Councillor; introduced the resolution at the conference. The resolution was successfully endorsed with 69.4 per cent of the FCM members in attendance voting in favour. 

The joint resolution included a call to action for the Federation of Canadian Municipalities to advocate to the Federal Government to help address the food insecurity crisis by:

• Providing emergency funding to food banks and food rescue agencies, and;

• Recognizing the systemic issues involved in food bank usage, including affordability, inequality, core housing need, and insufficient social support.

 Representatives from the three Ontario municipalities addressed delegates on Saturday as part of the Resolutions Plenary session.  

Quick Facts

• The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) has more than 2,000 members representing 90 per cent of Canada's population and is the national voice of municipal governments.

• FCM advocates in the Nation’s Capital on behalf of its members, making sure municipal priorities are reflected in federal policies and programs. Its programs provide funding and support capacity building that empowers local experts to focus on solving challenges in communities across Canada.

• The Food Banks Canada Hunger Count 2023 report indicates that nearly two million Canadians accessed food banks across the country in March 2023, a 32 per cent increase from March 2022 and a 78.5 per cent increase from March 2019, which is the highest year-over-year increase in usage ever reported.

  • In Hamilton, the number of households accessing food banks and hunger relief programs increased about 40 per cent from 2022 to 2023. The City of Hamilton is investing $1.25 million annually to help address the crisis, along with a one-time emergency grant provided to the City’s Emergency Food Strategic Planning Committee/Hamilton Food Share in October 2023. 

  • Peel region is comprised of the cities of Brampton and Mississauga, and the Town of Caledon, which are among the most diverse and the fastest-growing in all of Canada. 

  • Peel’s population is expected to exceed 2 million by 2051. Nearly 9 per cent of Peel’s population is living in poverty; nearly 20 per cent of Peel residents live in households that are marginally, moderately, or severely food insecure.

  • This year, food banks in Peel are reporting a 60 to 80 per cent increase in visits, with 30 per cent being first-time users, including international students, newcomers, and low-income workers.

  • In Halton, 10.4 per cent of households are food insecure, according to the 2021-2022 two-year combined estimates from the Canadian Income Survey.

Over the last five years, more than $3.2 million has been provided through the Halton Region Community Investment Fund to support the food security system, in addition to $500,000 in one-time funding in 2024 for a new central food distribution centre, Feed Halton. Regional funding also supports the Halton Food Connect initiative, which provides food packages directly to Ontario Works clients in collaboration with local agencies.