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The Relationship between Food Banks and Household Food Insecurity among Low-Income Toronto Families

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  • Rachel Loopstra
  • Valerie Tarasuk

Abstract

In the absence of targeted public policy to address household food insecurity in Canada, food banks remain the dominant response, despite questions about their effectiveness. Interviews with 371 low-income Toronto families revealed that 75 percent had experienced some food insecurity, but only 23 percent had used a food bank; for most food bank users, food insecurity was a severe and chronic problem. Food-insecure families' reasons for not using food banks indicated resistance and, in some instances, access barriers. These results draw into question the apparent reliance of federal and provincial/territorial governments on food charity to alleviate food insecurity and highlight the need for a public policy response.

Suggested Citation

  • Rachel Loopstra & Valerie Tarasuk, 2012. "The Relationship between Food Banks and Household Food Insecurity among Low-Income Toronto Families," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 38(4), pages 497-514, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpp:issued:v:38:y:2012:i:4:p:497-514
    DOI: 10.3138/CPP.38.4.497
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    Cited by:

    1. Sylvain Charlebois & Meghan Smook & Brenda Nyambura Wambui & Simon Somogyi & Megan Racey & Don Fiander & Janet Music & Isabelle Caron, 2021. "Can Canadians afford the new Canada's Food Guide? Assessing Barriers and Challenges," Journal of Food Research, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 10(6), pages 1-22, December.
    2. Holmes, Eleanor & Black, Jennifer L. & Heckelman, Amber & Lear, Scott A. & Seto, Darlene & Fowokan, Adeleke & Wittman, Hannah, 2018. "“Nothing is going to change three months from now”: A mixed methods characterization of food bank use in Greater Vancouver," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 200(C), pages 129-136.
    3. Flora Douglas & Fiona MacKenzie & Ourega-Zoé Ejebu & Stephen Whybrow & Ada L. Garcia & Lynda McKenzie & Anne Ludbrook & Elizabeth Dowler, 2018. "“ A Lot of People Are Struggling Privately. They Don’t Know Where to Go or They’re Not Sure of What to Do ”: Frontline Service Provider Perspectives of the Nature of Household Food Insecurity in Scotl," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-22, December.
    4. Bedük, Selçuk, 2018. "Identifying people in poverty: a multidimensional deprivation measure for the EU," SocArXiv 7prxq, Center for Open Science.
    5. Matteo Vittuari & Fabio De Menna & Silvia Gaiani & Luca Falasconi & Alessandro Politano & Jana Dietershagen & Andrea Segrè, 2017. "The Second Life of Food: An Assessment of the Social Impact of Food Redistribution Activities in Emilia Romagna, Italy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(10), pages 1-14, October.
    6. Benita Y. Tam & Leanne Findlay & Dafna Kohen, 2014. "Social Networks as a Coping Strategy for Food Insecurity and Hunger for Young Aboriginal and Canadian Children," Societies, MDPI, vol. 4(3), pages 1-14, September.
    7. Federico Roncarolo & Sherri Bisset & Louise Potvin, 2016. "Short-Term Effects of Traditional and Alternative Community Interventions to Address Food Insecurity," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(3), pages 1-14, March.
    8. Qiping Yang & Tong Yuan & Lina Yang & Jiaojiao Zou & Meimei Ji & Yefu Zhang & Jing Deng & Qian Lin, 2019. "Household Food Insecurity, Dietary Diversity, Stunting, and Anaemia among Left-Behind Children in Poor Rural Areas of China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(23), pages 1-13, November.
    9. Sue Booth & Christina Pollard & John Coveney & Ian Goodwin-Smith, 2018. "‘Sustainable’ Rather Than ‘Subsistence’ Food Assistance Solutions to Food Insecurity: South Australian Recipients’ Perspectives on Traditional and Social Enterprise Models," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-18, September.
    10. Mossenson, Sharonna & Giglia, Roslyn & Pulker, Claire E. & Chester, Miranda & McStay, Catrina & Pollard, Christina M, 2024. "Evidence for initiating food safety policy: An assessment of the quality and safety of donated food at an Australian food bank," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 123(C).
    11. Higgins, Christopher D. & Páez, Antonio & Kim, Gyoorie & Wang, Jue, 2021. "Changes in accessibility to emergency and community food services during COVID-19 and implications for low income populations in Hamilton, Ontario," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 291(C).
    12. Sriroop Chaudhuri & Mimi Roy & Louis M. McDonald & Yves Emendack, 2021. "Coping Behaviours and the concept of Time Poverty: a review of perceived social and health outcomes of food insecurity on women and children," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 13(4), pages 1049-1068, August.
    13. Nayantara Hattangadi & Ellen Vogel & Linda J Carroll & Pierre Côté, 2019. "“Everybody I Know Is Always Hungry…But Nobody Asks Why”: University Students, Food Insecurity and Mental Health," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-10, March.
    14. Alkaabneh, Faisal & Diabat, Ali & Gao, Huaizhu Oliver, 2021. "A unified framework for efficient, effective, and fair resource allocation by food banks using an Approximate Dynamic Programming approach," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    15. Ourega-Zoé Ejebu & Stephen Whybrow & Lynda Mckenzie & Elizabeth Dowler & Ada L Garcia & Anne Ludbrook & Karen Louise Barton & Wendy Louise Wrieden & Flora Douglas, 2018. "What can Secondary Data Tell Us about Household Food Insecurity in a High-Income Country Context?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-17, December.
    16. Kelly J. Hodgins & Evan D. G. Fraser, 2018. ""We are a business, not a social service agency." Barriers to widening access for low-income shoppers in alternative food market spaces," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 35(1), pages 149-162, March.
    17. Ron Kneebone & Margarita Wilkins, 2022. "The Sensitivity of Food Bank Visits to Social Assistance, Housing and Labour Market Conditions in Toronto," SPP Research Papers, The School of Public Policy, University of Calgary, vol. 15(10), March.

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