PROOF

Adults in severely food-insecure households are more likely to be lacking in many micronutrients, find researchers using Statistics Canada microdata. (en anglais seulement)

Read more: crdcn.ca/app/uploads/...

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Ontario Election 2025: Putting a plan for adequate social assistance on the table If the next Ontario government wants to change the course of food insecurity in the province, the place to start would be OW and ODSP.

A third of severely food-insecure households in ON in 2023 were households that received some support from OW or ODSP.

Improving social assistance could drastically reduce severe food insecurity in the province and lessen the burden on the health system. #ONpoli

proof.utoronto.ca/2025/ontario...

Ontario Election 2025: Putting a plan for adequate social assistance on the table If the next Ontario government wants to change the course of food insecurity in the province, the place to start would be OW and ODSP.

If the next Ontario government wants to change the course of food insecurity in the province, the place to start would be to ensure that their social assistance programs, OW & ODSP provide sufficient financial support for recipients to meet basic needs.

Read more: proof.utoronto.ca/2025/ontario...

Sustain Ontario 2025 VoteONFood campaign – Reduce poverty, improve working conditions and ensure affordable housing to increase food security

sustainontario.com/custom/uploa... (11/11)

Income Security Advocacy Centre’s Province Election Round Up

incomesecurity.org/provincial-e... (10/11)

2025 Election - Feed Ontario Unravelling at the seams: Ontario's food banks have been stretched to the limits.

It is more important than ever for the Ontario government to act on social assistance.

Check out these other election resources:

Feed Ontario’s Election Recommendations

feedontario.ca/advocacy-cha... (9/11)

Hunger Report 2024 - Feed Ontario Unravelling at the seams: Ontario's food banks have been stretched to the limits.

Feed Ontario reports that almost two-thirds of food bank clients in Ontario were reliant on social assistance. The demand that food banks face is tightly intertwined with policy decisions on social assistance. feedontario.ca/advocacy-cha... (8/11)

Number of homeless OW, ODSP recipients has almost doubled in two years: government data Advocates pointed to the high cost of housing and inflation as reasons for the increase

Social assistance reform is also critical for addressing the rising homelessness, another key municipal concern, with the number of social assistance recipients experiencing homelessness almost doubling over the past two years. www.thetrillium.ca/news/social-... (7/11)

After three cities in Ontario declare food insecurity an emergency, experts hope for more action from Doug Ford "Housing prices, the rising cost of food, inflation, as well as economic uncertainty" play a role in dramatic increases in food insecurity

Now Toronto, Mississauga, and Kingston have declared food insecurity as an emergency, with a united call for improvements to social assistance. More cities are also looking to do the same.

Check out our interview with @ericwickham.ca @pressprogress.ca at:
pressprogress.ca/after-three-... (6/11)

When the UN Rapporteur on the right to food visited in 2012, he expressed concern about the then already high rates of food insecurity & erosion of social protections, specifically the lack of accountability for provincial social assistance programs.

Unfortunately, little has changed since. (5/11)

Every year public health units across ON estimate the cost of food in their regions. Through this work, the inadequacies of OW & ODSP have been extensively documented for years.

We've summarize how much singles on OW & ODSP are short after food and rent: proof.utoronto.ca/2025/ontario... (4/11)

The cost of healthcare for an adult living in a severely food-insecure household in Ontario is more than double that of someone in food secure household.

A third of severely food-insecure households in Ontario in 2023 received some support from OW or ODSP. (3/11)

Since the start of this monitoring, we’ve known that households relying on social assistance have the highest rates of food insecurity.

In 2023, 70% of households relying on OW or ODSP were food-insecure and 43% were severely so. (2/11)

Ontario Election 2025: Putting a plan for adequate social assistance on the table

If the next Ontario government wants to change the course of food insecurity in the province, especially severe food insecurity, the place to start would be Ontario Works and ODSP.

Check out our last blog spot: proof.utoronto.ca/2025/ontario... (1/11)

Why 3 Ontario Cities Just Declared Food Insecurity Emergencies Tim Li from PROOF on Ontario's growing food insecurity emergency

PODCAST: Why 3 Ontario cities just declared food security emergencies

Ontario is gearing up for Doug Ford’s early election, but many Ontarians are struggling to put food on their tables

Tim Li from PROOF talks to PressProgress Ontario Reporter @ericwickham.ca about Ontario's food insecurity crisis

After three cities in Ontario declare food insecurity an emergency, experts hope for more action from Doug Ford "Housing prices, the rising cost of food, inflation, as well as economic uncertainty" play a role in dramatic increases in food insecurity

“70% of households that rely on social assistance are food insecure...Relying on social assistance is almost a guarantee that you’re going to be food insecure.”
There is wide consensus across municipalities that social assistance is too low.
pressprogress.ca/after-three-... by @ericwickham.ca (2/2)

This new dashboard by Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge (HKPR) District Health Unit is just one example of critical work by public health units across Ontario, highlighting the dire inadequacy of social assistance in the province. www.hkpr.on.ca/news-and-ale... (1/2)

After three cities in Ontario declare food insecurity an emergency, experts hope for more action from Doug Ford "Housing prices, the rising cost of food, inflation, as well as economic uncertainty" play a role in dramatic increases in food insecurity

After three cities in Ontario declare food insecurity an emergency, experts hope for more action from Doug Ford

"Housing prices, the rising cost of food, inflation, as well as economic uncertainty" play a role in dramatic increases in food insecurity

pressprogress.ca/after-three-...

We spoke with @ericwickham.ca on the recent municipal declarations that food insecurity is an emergency in Ontario. A common thread between them? The call for provincial government to reform social assistance so that it is adequate for meeting basic needs.

YouTube video by Toronto Vegetarian Food Bank Food Insecurity an interview with Valerie Tarasuk and Matt Noble

"The beautiful thing about conversation around basic income is talking about the adequacy of incomes relative to the true cost of living and setting a floor that we won’t let people fall below." Dr. Tarasuk speaking with Matt Noble from Put Food Banks Out of Business www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vz4_...

Listen to her interview with CBC The Current's Matt Galloway as part of CBC's annual coverage of Order of Canada appointees, on the need for government leadership and accountability on household food insecurity (starts at 00:08:11). (2/2)

www.cbc.ca/listen/live-...

PROOF Principal Investigator Dr. Valerie Tarasuk appointed to Order of Canada - PROOF Dr. Valerie Tarasuk, Professor Emerita in Nutritional Sciences at the University of Toronto, and principal investigator of PROOF has been named a member of the Order of Canada for her research leaders...

We've started the new year with a move to Bluesky and the exciting appointment of our principal investigator Dr. Valerie Tarasuk to the Order of Canada, in recognition of her contributions to food insecurity research and advocacy. proof.utoronto.ca/2024/proof-p... (1/2)