Mississauga food bank system lays off staff, cuts programs to preserve food resources

Volunteers work at the Food Banks Canada distribution centre in Toronto, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. — The food bank system in one of Ontario’s largest cities says it’s been forced to lay off staff and cut programs in order to keep feeding the growing number of residents who rely on food donations.

Food Banks Mississauga says it is reducing its paid workforce by 16 per cent and cancelling two programs to ensure its long-term sustainability.

The organization says that was “the only path forward” to avoid decreasing the amount of food it can give out, with local food bank usage at an all-time high.

It says one in 13 residents in Mississauga, a city of nearly 800,000 people, rely on food banks and it expects to serve 100,000 visitors a year by 2027.

Feed Ontario says more than a million people across the province visited a food bank in 2023-2024, and nearly 40 per cent of surveyed food banks were forced to reduce the amount of food they give out.

Food Banks Mississauga says demand for emergency food has grown faster than donations received and its money cannot stretch as far.

“We have been forced to make this painful but necessary decision to lay off staff and cancel programs to preserve our resources to support food bank visitors,” Food Banks Mississauga CEO Meghan Nicholls said in a statement Wednesday.

“This is one of the most difficult decisions we’ve had to make as an organization, and unfortunately, it is the only path forward to maintain the same level of service we provide to our community.”

Nicholls said food banks have been a “Band-Aid solution” to gaps in social assistance programs and stretching that too far has resulted in her organization’s restructuring.

Food Banks Mississauga is urging people to review the platforms of Ontario’s political parties and to “vote for representatives who pledge to address poverty and food insecurity” in the Feb. 27 provincial election.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 12, 2025.