Feed Ontario

Feed Ontario is a province-wide food-bank network formerly known as the Ontario Association of Food Banks, or OAFB. The organization represents food banks and a broader group of hunger-relief agencies across Ontario, including community kitchens, breakfast clubs and school meal programs, community food centres, emergency shelters, and facilities serving seniors. Its role is not limited to distributing food directly: it supports member organizations with food, resources, coordination, research, and practical solutions intended to strengthen local responses to food insecurity. The organization was established in 1992, initially representing 125 food banks. Over time, its network expanded to include more than 1,200 food banks and hunger-relief organizations across Ontario. Its stated mission under the OAFB name was to strengthen communities by providing food, resources, and solutions that address both immediate and longer-term food insecurity. Research and public reporting became an important part of that work. The organization has regularly published hunger reports examining who uses food banks, how frequently services are accessed, and the economic conditions associated with food insecurity. Its research has highlighted the relationship between food-bank demand and housing costs, precarious employment, household composition, age, and income. A 2015 report, for example, documented substantial participation by children, seniors, and single-person households, while showing that many clients were renters or residents of social housing. The report also connected food-bank use with high rent burdens and the growth of temporary, contract, and part-time employment. On February 11, 2019, the organization adopted the name Feed Ontario. The rebrand was intended to reflect an organization whose activities had developed beyond the traditional image of a food-bank association. Under the Feed Ontario name, the network has continued to publish provincial hunger research and to support food banks and related organizations. The 2024 Hunger Report described a sharp escalation in demand. It reported that 1,001,105 unique individuals accessed food banks across Ontario, representing a 25 percent increase from the preceding year and an 86 percent increase from 2019–2020. Total visits reached 7,689,580, up 31 percent year over year and 134 percent from 2019–2020. Forty-three percent of visitors were new to the service, while 71 percent were adults and 29 percent were children. Every Ontario region recorded a double-digit increase in food-bank use. The report also said that more than one-third of food banks had reduced the quantity of food provided during visits because their capacity was under pressure. These figures position Feed Ontario both as a support network for frontline agencies and as a public voice on the scale and causes of hunger in the province.

The organization now known as Feed Ontario was founded in 1992 as the Ontario Association of Food Banks. At its formation, it represented 125 food banks in Ontario. Its membership and working network later broadened considerably, encompassing more than 1,200 food banks and hunger-relief organizations across the province. These organizations include conventional urban and rural food banks as well as community kitchens, breakfast clubs, school meal programs, community food centres, emergency shelters, and services for seniors. The OAFB's original purpose was to strengthen the capacity of local organizations to respond to hunger. Its mission emphasized the provision of food, resources, and solutions addressing both immediate needs and the longer-term conditions behind food insecurity. This made the association a coordinating and support body rather than a conventional consumer-facing brand. Its work connected frontline agencies with supplies, organizational resources, and shared analysis of provincial conditions. Research became a continuing part of the organization's public role. The OAFB issued reports on hunger and food-bank use in Ontario, documenting demographic patterns and the economic pressures affecting people seeking assistance. Its 2015 Hunger Report reported that 358,963 people accessed food banks across Ontario during March of that year, including 120,554 children under 18. It also identified a 35 percent increase in senior visitors over the preceding year, found that nearly half of clients lived in single-person households, and reported that approximately 90 percent were renters or tenants in social housing. The report connected food-bank demand with rent burdens, low incomes, and the growth of temporary, contract, and part-time employment. The organization's programming was described as innovative by the Globe and Mail and the Toronto Star in 2007. On February 11, 2019, the association rebranded as Feed Ontario. The change reflected the development of a broader operating identity and activities extending beyond the traditional concept of an association representing food banks. The organization retained its emphasis on network support, public research, and solutions to food insecurity, while continuing the hunger-reporting tradition established under the OAFB name. Feed Ontario's 2024 reporting showed that demand had risen sharply. The report counted 1,001,105 unique food-bank users and 7,689,580 visits across the province. Compared with the prior year, those totals increased by 25 percent and 31 percent respectively; compared with 2019–2020, the increases were 86 percent and 134 percent. Forty-three percent of visitors were new, 71 percent were adults, and 29 percent were children. The report said every region of Ontario experienced a double-digit annual increase and that more than one-third of food banks had reduced the amount of food available per visit. It also reported that 53.1 percent of clients were in single-person households, 88.2 percent were renters or social-housing tenants, and employment was the primary income source for 24 percent of food-bank households. These findings underscore Feed Ontario's continuing dual role as a support network for hunger-relief agencies and an institution documenting the province's changing social and economic needs.

• 2024

  Reported record pressure on Ontario food banks

  [2]Feed Ontario Hunger Reportsfeedontario.ca

  Feed Ontario reported more than one million unique food-bank users and more than 7.6 million visits across Ontario, with many food banks reducing the amount supplied per visit.

• 2019

  Rebranded as Feed Ontario

  [1]Feed Ontarioen.wikipedia.org

  On February 11, the Ontario Association of Food Banks adopted the Feed Ontario name to reflect its broader contemporary activities.

• 2015

  Hunger Report documents demographic and housing pressures

  [1]Feed Ontarioen.wikipedia.org

  The OAFB reported substantial food-bank use among children, seniors, renters, social-housing tenants, and single-person households, linking demand to low incomes and high housing costs.

• 2007

  Programming recognized as innovative

  [1]Feed Ontarioen.wikipedia.org

  The association's programming was noted for innovation in coverage by the Globe and Mail and the Toronto Star.

• 1992

  Ontario Association of Food Banks founded

  [1]Feed Ontarioen.wikipedia.org

  The Ontario Association of Food Banks was established to represent food banks and strengthen hunger-relief capacity across Ontario.

Provincial non-profit network and advocacy organization supporting food banks and broader hunger-relief services in Ontario.

• Research and public reporting

  Hunger Reports

  Feed Ontario's recurring research reports analyze food-bank use and food insecurity across the province. They present figures on unique users, visits, age groups, household composition, housing tenure, employment, and regional trends. The reports serve both as a source of information about frontline demand and as an advocacy tool focused on the structural conditions associated with hunger.

• 2019

  Adoption of the Feed Ontario identityStrategy

  Background

  The former Ontario Association of Food Banks had developed activities extending beyond a narrow association role, including broader network support and public research on food insecurity.

  Action taken

  The organization changed its name to Feed Ontario on February 11, 2019.

  Aftermath

  The organization continued its food-bank network, research, and hunger-relief support work under the Feed Ontario name.

  Source

1. 1Feed Ontarioen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Feed Ontario Hunger Reportsfeedontario.ca
3. 3Feed Ontario official websiteoafb.ca