Divided City Life In Canada's Child Poverty Capital

DIVIDED CITY: Life in Canada’s Child Poverty Capital
2016 Toronto Child and Family Poverty Report Card
Figure 18: Percent of Households With Children Using a Food Bank Who Haven’t Eaten
for an Entire Day in the Last Year Due to Lack of Money, (2008-2016)
45%
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
38 38 38
37
35
35 33
30
28
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Source: Daily Bread Food Bank, Annual Survey of Food Bank Clients, 2008-2015.
There is also stark neighbourhood-level disparity in the percentage of children who are eating breakfast every
day. Figure 19 shows that children from the inner-city core and the east and west inner suburbs are less likely
to be eating breakfast. While it is unclear why some children do not eat breakfast regularly, at a population
level this could indicate some aspects of food insecurity. 34
Hunger and food insecurity is increasing as a result of high housing costs, the rising cost of food, increases in
unemployment rates, and low and stagnating incomes. 35 In order to end child hunger and provide all children
in Toronto with a healthy start, the key causes of food insecurity must be addressed.
Figure 19: Percent of Students Who Eat Breakfast or a Snack Daily Before School by Neighbourhood, TDSB, Grades 7 and 8, 2011
48.6 59.1
74.1
59.2
70.8
66.7 73.1 73.5
64.7
52.3
73.3
65.2
83.8 73.0
64.1
68.4
51.4
68.7
67.4 60.4
71.1
65.2
54.2
70.2
57.7
59.6
84.6
50.0
59.0
63.0
65.0 75.0
64.1
60.6
56.9 58.2
67.6 71.9
62.5
81.9
67.7
56.7
56.1 68.9 62.0 75.4
66.7
62.4
65.7 77.5 77.2
54.0 54.2
84.0
71.9
62.6
55.3
69.7 74.3
68.8
57.8
68.5
66.7
61.7
69.9
57.1
78.4 64.5
63.1 66.7 73.9
79.2
75.4 72.5
80.4 56.5
59.7
78.3 67.6
74.1
79.8
80.0
84.9
64.2
66.7
65.0
76.9 73.9 66.7 55.0
76.4 65.5
64.1
62.7
70.4
63.2
46.7 75.6
70.8 65.1
57.1
58.8
53.7
58.3
59.6
65.2
51.0
50.0 48.8
73.9
75.0 62.3
65.7
56.3
69.2
76.6
63.5
62.8
62.1
66.5
59.5
69.2
N
60.5
59.4
54.1
65.5
77.6
64.0
59.7
58.4
66.9
60.3
63.1
61.9
61.7
68.9
58.4
59.7
62.4
80.7
46.7 - 60.0%
60.1 - 65.1%
65.2 - 71.9%
72.0 - 85.0%
0 1 2 3 4
Km
Source: Toronto District School Board (TDSB), Student Census, Grades 7 and 8, 2011.
22