Family of 4 will pay almost $17k for food this year as poverty spreads across Peel—what are federal leaders proposing to do?

The biggest hit to Dennis Oskoi’s wallet is the price of food.

“It seems that food has gotten much more expensive since the start of Covid,” the 28-year-old Mississauga resident tells The Pointer. “I mean, rent is the obvious one but I would say food is the number one. The price in restaurants has gotten much more expensive and even prices at the grocery stores have increased quite a bit. That's the major one that I’ve felt most.”

This year, according to Canada’s Food Price Report 2025 food prices are projected to rise another 3 to 5 percent, after sharp increases since the pandemic. “The average family of four is expected to spend $16,833.67 on food in 2025, an increase of up to $801.56 from last year.” In 2019, before the pandemic, the annual report by the University of Guelph and Dalhousie University estimated an average family of four would spend $12,157 that year, a 39 percent increase in just over a half-decade.

Oskoi and most people in his circle have not resorted to a food bank, but he says that is a very real possibility if governments fail to intervene.

“It hasn’t gotten to that point but it seems to be close for some of them,” he said. “I know friends that are living on their own renting an apartment or a condo and they’re barely able to meet their expenses. They have to live very frugally. Thankfully, no one I know has had to go to a food bank, yet, but if the costs keep increasing like this I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case in a few more years.” 

In the fall, Food Banks Mississauga reported that 56,000 residents (1 in 13) were using the organization’s services — the largest increase in food bank visits across Canada. Its latest projections estimate 100,000 users (1 in 7) by 2027. 

The organization’s director of marketing and communications, Daisy Yiu, says instability in the food market and other industries caused by unpredictable American trade policies could drive demand even higher than predicted.

“If we see increased unemployment down the line, growth can change quite quickly. But because everything is very uncertain and volatile at the moment, it's difficult to kind of provide a more accurate projection at this time,” she told The Pointer. 

Food Banks Mississauga saw the largest increase in food bank use last year, with roughly 56,000 residents now using its services.

(Food Banks Mississauga) 

The ongoing affordability crisis, fueled first by the double whammy of inflationary pressures and high interest rates, could once again worsen due to Donald Trump’s leadership, which has become the dominant issue of the ongoing Canadian federal election. 

Mississauga resident Mona Ankisetty thinks of her children, who, at the age of 29 and 33, are struggling to get by.

“I see many of their generation, many of their friends, they are looking towards second hand stores. They want to buy some clothes, some shoes and I know it's sustainable but I don’t want them to be defeated,” she told The Pointer. “They are just starting life and they are already defeated. They know they cannot afford the prices for clothes, for shoes, for food. Not even talking about going out and having fun.”

“Even if they’re making money there’s nothing left to spend. It's way too much and it’s a very big stress on them.”

Ankisetty says she tries to help as much as she can. 

“Our donations are going towards the food bank because even if I don’t know someone who is struggling, maybe my neighbour knows more people who are going there.”

She has been donating to Mississauga’s food bank for nearly a decade, but with the rising price of groceries she is not able to give as much as she did ten years ago. 

The organization has reported a shift from people who used to be donors now turning to the food bank for support. Its latest annual impact report revealed 45 percent of the food bank’s clients have been using the service for under a year and 27 percent of visitors have full-time jobs. 

In Peel, roughly 8.6 percent (123,660) of the population is now living in poverty, according to a recent report from the Region which revealed that in 2023, approximately 23 percent of Peel residents were impacted by some level of food insecurity.

Food Banks Mississauga does not receive any financial aid from upper levels of government and relies solely on donations to keep operations afloat, with food drives and public donations accounting for 17 percent of the food sources.

Donations have decreased.

“We're still seeing that wages and social assistance programs haven't kept pace with the increase in cost of living,” Yiu said. “So folks that were already struggling to make ends meet continue to do so, and we still are seeing folks that are turning to us despite having part time or full time employment, or multiple part time jobs.”

Despite warnings from food banks across the country that continue to advocate to upper levels of government for policy changes, the affordability crisis has not garnered much attention along the campaign trail. 

“We would love to see if food insecurity could be included more and across all parties, all platforms,” Yiu said. “Not just lip service to it, but actually committing to it, and including in party platforms what they will do to try and reduce food insecurity, instead of just saying that, ‘yes, it's something we need to address.’”

“It would be great to get more attention. We're seeing that there are still lots of folks that need food. It's both people who are employed part-time, full-time, folks that are on social assistance, single parents trying to make ends meet. It's still the same flow of people, and unfortunately that's no matter what government is in place as of right now.”

Despite the alarming rate of food bank usage in recent years, federal parties have not put forward concrete strategies to address the root causes of the ongoing affordability problem.

(Alexis Wright/The Pointer files) 

Rather than proposing concrete policy changes to address the root causes of the affordability crisis, upper levels of government have instead relied heavily on community-based organizations like Food Banks Mississauga to fill the gaps. 

“If you're constantly having to think about how much money you'll have left at the end of the week or the month in order to be able to buy the food that you need for you and your family, and also pay your rent, it's like mental gymnastics,” Yiu said.

“For decades, the Canadian social safety net, once a source of pride, has now been eroded,” Kirstin Beardsley, CEO of Food Banks Canada, wrote in an email to The Pointer. “What recent challenges have shown us is that many people in Canada are on the edge of needing the social safety net, through no fault of their own.”

“By the time people access our social system, it’s too late. They’ve been allowed to slip too far, and it’s next to impossible for them to climb back out. Costs have outpaced wage growth and our social supports by leaps and bounds.”

Food Banks Canada wants the next federal government to implement a Grocery and Essentials Benefit, a policy that officials say would provide immediate relief. The benefit, initially presented by the Affordability Action Council, is aimed at helping low-income families purchase food and other everyday essentials. It would restructure and expand the Goods and Services Tax/-Harmonized Sales Tax rebate and build on the one-time grocery rebate issued in 2023. Officials say the revamped benefit, which the Council recommended be provided monthly instead of quarterly, would provide a base amount of $1,800 a year per adult and $600 per child, or approximately $150 a month per adult and $50 per child to the lowest–income households.

Yiu says the benefit is “one of the quickest and easiest ways to get money into the hands of people that need it the most.”

“There are other key issues that we know that the government has taken action on recently in terms of PharmaCare and dental care. But benefits from those programs are not going to be felt for many years, whereas something like a Groceries and Essentials Benefit, it's right now and it can be done immediately.”

Food Banks Canada is also calling on the next federal government to commit to a 50 percent reduction in food insecurity. Cutting food insecurity in half, officials say, “could see at least 4.5 million more people (nearly equal to the population of Alberta) able to feed themselves sufficiently each day.”

The organization wants all federal benefits indexed to inflation with no clawbacks of provincial social supports; Employment Insurance should include those who are self-employed and experiencing precarious work; while there should be improved support to workers with low incomes. 

Food Banks Canada is calling on the next federal government to reduce food insecurity by 50 percent by 2030.

(Alexis Wright/The Pointer files)

Liberal Leader Mark Carney is pledging to make the National School Food Program permanent to provide meals to children who do not have access to sufficient food, and has recommitted to delivering the Canada Child Benefit. The Liberals would increase the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) by five percent, providing up to an additional $652 in income per year to low-income seniors. He would reduce income taxes for the middle class by bringing down the marginal tax rate on the lowest bracket by one percent, which the Party says could save dual-income families up to $825 a year. To address rising housing costs, the Liberals have promised a GST cut on new homes up to a million dollars. 

The Conservatives, under Pierre Poilievre, are promising more aggressive tax cuts which he says would save the average worker $900 a year. The Conservatives have pledged to scrap the federal sales tax on new homes up to $1.3 million.  

No specific strategies to bring down the overall cost of food have been proposed by either of the two front-running parties. The previous Liberal government pursued more competition in the grocery store market, and took steps to attract international chains to Canada, but those efforts have not borne fruit so far.  

Jagmeet Singh has provided the most direct response to addressing rising costs, announcing in March that the NDP would cap prices on grocery essentials, while also eliminating the GST from home essentials like heating, internet and children's wear. The Party would enforce a mandatory Grocery Code of Conduct to regulate pricing practices and prevent wage cuts and “empower” the Competition Bureau “to act as a grocery price watchdog” to “crack down on price fixing.” Profits of major grocery retailers such as Loblaws, Walmart, Costco, and Empire Foods would also be further taxed. 

On housing affordability, the NDP said they would help first time home buyers by working with the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation “to offer low-interest, public-backed mortgages.” Singh also plans to prioritize building non-market and affordable housing, as well as introduce stronger rental protections to stop price increases. 

Food Banks Canada has called on the federal government to address the affordable housing crisis by committing to examine the potential for a national rent assistance program, introducing new investments to build more supportive housing for people who have mental and physical health issues, and doubling the Canada Rental Protection Fund from $1.5 billion to $3 billion.

“Rising inflation and housing costs are delivering a one-two punch, making it hard for people across the country to put food on the table,” Beardsley said. “This year’s increase is happening against the backdrop of the ongoing affordability crisis and an uptick in unemployment rates, including a significant increase in unemployment rates among recent newcomers compared to previous years.”

“This is why Food Banks Canada calls for a dual-path approach to address the root causes of food bank use by focusing on low incomes and poverty and the urgent need people now face due to the skyrocketing cost of living.” 

Oskoi, who still lives with his mother because of the cost of housing in Mississauga, says he doesn’t think conditions will change anytime soon. 

“A lot of friends I know are resorting to roommates so I think it’s a shame that it's come to that because I think everyone should be able to rent their own place if they’re working a full-time job, but it's not the reality of the situation,” he says. 

“I'm taking the perspective that I'm able to live at home, I’m able to save money. That's not actually a privilege that a lot of people have because they may not be fortunate enough to live at home. So I'm taking that opportunity to save as much as possible…now because a lot of people have to live at home or find roommates just to be able to even save a little bit of money for their future.”

The Pointer's 2025 federal election coverage is partly supported by the Covering Canada: Election 2025 Fund. 

Email: [email protected] 

Twitter: @mcpaigepeacock 

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