Food and Housing Insescurity
About This Collection
As Canadians grapple with rising food prices outpacing inflation and a lack of affordable housing, Future of Good looks at ways organizations are finding solutions and offering ideas to help ensure everyone has clean, warm shelter and no one goes hungry.
Feeding change: Regina’s free grocery store will soon be developing its own food products
While the choice model food bank is not a new concept, Regina’s Community Food Hub has also added a “layer of innovation” through data-enabled decision-making, said CEO John Bailey. Although clients are not paying for their food, data about what they are “buying” is becoming invaluable to the food bank’s operations.
Feeding Change: North York Harvest Food Bank on the verge of becoming self-sufficient
The rising food insecurity crisis shows that communities need solutions beyond traditional food bank services.
Budget 2025: How Canada’s national school food program can catalyze systemic change
On October 10, the Carney government announced the National School Food program will be permanent with $216 million in annual funding starting in 2029. Making this program permanent could be the first step into a systemic change by creating a national ecosystem of social caterers and food security non-profit.
Food bank usage in Canada soars to all-time high
The rise in food insecurity in Canada highlights the larger economic pressures Canadians face, showing the real effects of the affordability crisis and the need for systemic solutions.
Canadian Mennonite University to give first-year students free housing
Rising housing costs have become a significant barrier to post-secondary education. CMU’s announcement shows how donor support can create lasting benefits with the potential to impact Canadians for generations to come.
Federal funding cuts to refugee housing will negatively impact Black, African communities most, say advocates
In 2023, several refugees who arrived in Toronto ended up unhoused or in the city’s temporary shelters. Many had arrived from African countries. Organizations have warned that the federal government’s cuts to the Interim Housing Assistance Program (IHAP) could lead to another emergency in the city, with local municipalities, churches and community groups picking up what they say should be a federal responsibility.
Maytree accuses feds of potentially violating Charter, human rights laws over cuts to refugee housing funding
Two years after hundreds of refugees were left sleeping on Toronto city streets, funding for the Interim Housing Assistance Program has been reduced by the federal government. However, while funding has been reduced, so has the number of asylum claims. It's obvious a multi-pronged solution is needed.
Affordable housing, robust benefits, transparency and more: 7 things the social sector wants from Budget 2025
Amid Prime Minister Mark Carney’s promised reduction in the public service, non-profits and social purpose groups will likely have a tough time advocating for increased funding. However, many also recommend that the government review some of its social policy commitments and update them with the present economic situation in mind.
A supportive housing failure in Vancouver is spurring innovative changes to Granville Street. Other cities are getting creative, too
Canada’s housing crisis is disproportionately affecting low-income Canadians. Without creative intervention, homelessness will only get worse. The good news is that intervention is beginning to happen—here’s how.
Sowing solutions: An innovative approach to fighting food insecurity in Canada
A powerful partnership between a local non-profit, a forward-thinking tech company, and a major financial institution is transforming the fight against food insecurity—offering not just meals, but a sustainable future for vulnerable communities.
Why are one-third of non-profit workers food insecure?
There is an urgent need for better funding models in the social sector that prioritize living wages and sustainability.
How a QR code campaign generated $250,000 for Toronto food bank Daily Bread
By spinning up a low-cost fundraising campaign informed by a change in a local context, Daily Bread was able to generate additional capital – crucial as demand on its network of food banks continues to rise.
Record food bank numbers persist despite falling inflation levels; Canadian food disparity a “moral failure” say experts
Inflation has fallen to its lowest level in three years, but those in the food security sector say adequate sustenance is still out of reach for many people struggling to make ends meet.