Pay your bills or buy groceries? These are the hard choices as food insecurity rises in northwestern Ontario

Veronica Hillyard says she only went to the grocery store four times last year because when faced with the choice between paying her bills or filling up her fridge, something had to give.

"I've always paid my bills and of course, if I don't, I might lose my home. Buying groceries? I don't have that option, really," said the Thunder Bay, Ont., senior.

"Sometimes you have to understand that you have to buy something because you can't sleep. If you're hungry, it's impossible to get to sleep."

Other people are also finding themselves in that situation as food insecurity continues to rise across northwestern Ontario. 

The cost to feed a family of four in the Thunder Bay District Health Unit (TBDHU) catchment area was about $1,200 a month in 2023, up 15 per cent from the previous year.

For those in the Northwestern Health Unit's (NWHU) catchment area, which includes part of the Kenora district and the entire Rainy River district, it's around $1,400 a month, a nine per cent increase over 2022. 

"I think I was more surprised that it wasn't higher," said Kim McGibbon, a public health nutritionist with the TBDHU..

Public health units in Ontario are required to produce annual reports to assess the affordability of food in their regions. In the reports, food affordability is measured using a tool called the nutritious food basket, which includes about 60 staple food items.

The general rule of thumb is people shouldn't spend more than 15 per cent of their income on food that meets their nutritional needs, however, a family of four in the Thunder Bay district that relies on Ontario Works spends roughly 43 per cent of their income on food, McGibbon said.

Female-led homes with children under age 18, Black and Indigenous people and other people of colour face higher rates of food insecurity than the rest of the population, she added.

'It's about people having enough income'

Michael Quibell, executive director of the Dew Drop Inn, a program that serves daily meals, said the organization is serving about 2,000 more people a month in 2024 than in 2023. Nearly 60 per cent of its patrons are over age 60.

"By the time you pay your rent, your utilities, your expenses, there's very little left for food. Food is usually the last thing bought, so that's why we see more and more people in our lineups," Quibell said.

While there have been increases to social assistance rates and the minimum wage in Ontario is set to rise from $16.55 to $17.20 an hour come October, McGibbon said it's not enough to keep up with inflation. The Ontario Living Wage Network calculates Thunder Bay's living wage at $19.80 an hour.

The TBDHU's board of health is writing a letter to the federal government in support of Bill 233, said McGibbon, which would require the development of a national framework for a guaranteed livable basic income in Canada. 

"The focus is making sure that people have enough income to be able to buy the food that they want for their families that's culturally-appropriate and also that meets their nutritional needs," she said.

Zoe Brenner, a public health dietitian with the NWHU, said it's important for people to recognize food insecurity as a public health issue.

"Because food is tied to incomes, it's one of the strongest predictors we have for health in Canada. It can impact both our physical and mental health, our childhood growth and development," she said.

More than 21 per cent of households in the Kenora-Rainy River districts experience food insecurity — higher than the regional and provincial rates. Brenner attributes the numbers in part to the unique challenges in northern Ontario.

"We have higher transportation and fuel costs to get food to our communities. We have fewer grocery stores in terms of competition," she said.

Food services like the Dew Drop Inn "work really hard to make sure people have access to the food they need, but these programs are straining to keep up."

Quibell said his volunteers have to shop smarter now to meet rising demands, adding that some items are going up by one to two dollars apiece.

While the community has been supportive, it's still daunting to think about the organization's food budget going forward, he said.

Like McGibbon, Brenner said it's important to advocate for income-based solutions "to help those health outcomes and bring people out of food insecurity," she said. 

Hillyard is one of the hundreds who turn to the Dew Drop Inn to help address their own food insecurity.

Monday is seniors' day. Hillyard was all smiles when she was there to have lunch and take home an extra bag of food.

"It's food for the soul here as well as food for the tummy because of all the people that you can get to love and learn about," she said.

"The staff here are non-judgmental, supportive. They love humour. The chef deserves a rose every week for the love he puts in the food."

Aaron Abraham of Long Lake 58 First Nation has been coming to the Dew Drop Inn for three years. To him, it's a place to meet people from all walks of life.

"It's kind of like a home — that's what it feels like when you come here," he said.

More people are recognizing the impact of food insecurity in the community, and how it's also affecting people with full-time employment whose wages aren't keeping pace with rising costs, Quibell said.

Regardless of a person's background, he said, "everyone does deserve a good meal."

"Everyone deserves to be treated with respect and dignity," he added.