This document provides supporting information for the 2023 Resolution on Monitoring Food Affordability in Ontario and Inadequacy of Social Assistance Rates from alPHa (Association of local Public Health Agencies)
SPONSOR: Ontario Dietitians in Public Health
Food insecurity, inadequate or insecure access to food due to household financial constraints, continues to be a serious and pervasive public health problem. Physical and mental health are tightly linked to individuals’ household food security status.1 The health consequences of food insecurity are a large burden on our healthcare system and are costly for public health care budgets.1 The most current data indicate approximately one in six households in Ontario experience some level of food insecurity.2
Social assistance recipients, including those reliant on Ontario Works (OW) and the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP), are at extremely high risk of food insecurity. In 2021, approximately 67% of households in Ontario receiving social assistance experienced food insecurity.2 The situation has undoubtedly worsened since then with extraordinary food inflation over the past year. The price of food purchased from stores from February 2022 to February 2023 increased by 10.6%, rising at a rate not seen since the early 1980s.3
Food affordability monitoring conducted by local Public Health Units (PHUs) in May/June 2022 substantiates that individuals receiving social assistance experience extremely dire financial situations, particularly single adults without children. Table 1 illustrates that for a sample of PHUs across all Ontario regions, monthly OW rates in addition to all potential tax credits (assuming individuals file income tax returns) fall short of covering only the cost of a bachelor apartment and food by a range of -$132 in Chatham-Kent to -$752 in Toronto. Other basic costs of living (e.g., clothing, personal care, transportation, phone, etc.) are not included. These data clearly indicate the extreme inadequacy of OW rates which have been frozen since 2018.4
Table 1: Single Adult receiving ONTARIO WORKS (OW)
Table 2 shows the monthly funds remaining or shortfall of ODSP and available tax credits after rent for a one-bedroom apartment and cost of food are deducted. Again, other basic costs of living are not included. The monthly funds remaining for ODSP recipients range from $121 in Chatham-Kent to a shortfall of -$525 in Toronto. Despite an increase of 5% to ODSP in September 2022, an increase from $200 per month to $1000 per month on employment earning cap, and an adjustment for inflation beginning in July 2023,4,5,6, ODSP falls well below the actual costs of living.
Table 2: Single Adult receiving ONTARIO DISABILITY SUPPORT PROGRAM (ODSP)
Ontario’s poverty reduction plan, Building a Strong Foundation for Success: Reducing Poverty in Ontario (2020-2025) includes various indicators (e.g., poverty rate, employment rate, graduation rate); however, it does not include an indicator or provincial targets for the reduction of household food insecurity (HFI). HFI is a highly sensitive measure of material deprivation that is strongly associated with health outcomes and health care utilization. Food insecurity data collected in the Canadian Community Health Survey and the Canadian Income Survey should be utilized to implement and evaluate effective policy interventions for alleviating food insecurity.7
References
- PROOF (Food Insecurity Policy Research). What are the implications of food insecurity for health and health care? [webpage online]. Accessed April 18, 2023 from: https://proof.utoronto.ca/food-insecurity/what-are-the-implications-of-food- insecurity-for-health-and-health-care/.
- Tarasuk V, Li T, Fafard St-Germain AA. Household food insecurity in Canada, 2021. Toronto: Research to identify policy options to reduce food insecurity (PROOF). 2022. Accessed April 18, 2023 from: https://proof.utoronto.ca/.
- Statistics Canada. Consumer Price Index, February 2023. Retrieved 13 April 2023 from https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/230321/dq230321a-eng.pdf.
- Income Security Advocacy Centre. OW and ODSP rates and the OCB as of September 2022. 2022. Accessed April 18, 2023 from: https://incomesecurity.org/ow- and-odsp-rates-and-the-ocb-as-of-september-2022/.
- Government of Ontario. News release: Ontario’s plan to build supporting stronger province and economy. 2022. Accessed April 18, 2023 from: https://news.ontario.ca/en/release/1002233/ontarios-plan-to-build-supporting-stronger- province-and-economy.
- Community Living Ontario News Updates. Key Changes Announced in the 2022 Ontario Fall Economic Update. 2022. Accessed April 18, 2023 from: https://communitylivingontario.ca/key-changes-announced-in-the-2022-ontario-fall- economic-update/.
- Food Insecurity Policy Research (PROOF). Provincial Policy Levers to Reduce Household Food Insecurity [webpage online]. Accessed April 18, 2023 from: https://proof.utoronto.ca/resource/provincial-policy-levers-to-reduce-household-food-insecurity/.
