Toronto food banks brace for the worst in the face of looming tariff threat

Toronto food banks – many of which are already struggling to meet demand – are expecting to see a significant increase in users if the threatened U.S. tariffs go ahead on April 2. 

Neil Hetherington, CEO of the Daily Bread Food Bank, told CBC Toronto the non-profit was already expecting to spend $2.5 million more than originally budgeted to meet increased demand this year.

And that's before factoring in any impact tariffs would have, he said. 

"Now you add on individuals who are going to lose their jobs, individuals who are not going to get those additional hours at their place of location and they are going to come to the food bank," Hetherington said.  

On Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump paused the tariffs on Canadian goods that briefly went into effect on March 4, which included 25 per cent levies on most Canadian goods and 10 per cent levies on oil and gas exports. 

The nearly month-long reprieve comes after weeks of back-and-forth from the administration in Washington, leaving local food banks preparing for worst-case scenarios in the days ahead. 

In retaliation, Canada originally slapped 25 per cent tariffs on $30 billion worth of American goods, and tariffs would be applied to another $125 billion worth after a three-week consultation period.

If that should come to pass, Hetherington said, any revenue earned on counter-tariffs should be put to good use. 

"Let's make sure that that money is going directly back into social infrastructure," he said. "Like making sure that we're developing decent affordable housing across Canada so that this legacy at least be one where we have a stronger, more resilient Canada."

Ryan Noble, executive director at North York Harvest Food Bank, agreed, adding that while food banks would be under additional strain because of the tariffs, the larger problems they face aren't new. 

Policy solutions needed, even without tariffs

"We've been telling similar stories for years now," he told CBC Toronto. "We've allowed our social safety net to degrade … That story is not going to change until we see the types of policy solutions that are going to be required so that people have sufficient income to meet their basic needs." 

North York Harvest is also preparing for major impacts if the trade war is reignited. Specifically, Noble said he would expect a higher volume of users as well as a decrease in contributions as regular donors face rising daily costs. 

"And then our ability to fill in the void from that decrease in donations becomes more and more expensive," he said. 

Fiona Yeudall, an assistant professor at Toronto Metropolitan University's School of Nutrition, told CBC Toronto tariffs pose a threat to food security in general. 

"When people are stressed in terms of their income the food is the elastic portion," she said. "You start to eat food that you don't like as much or you reduce the quality. And if it gets really bad, you reduce the quantity. And the last people within any household who get reduced quantity are children. So if there's hungry children, there's hungry parents."

Even before the tariffs came along, food insecurity was primarily an income issue and requires income-based solutions, Yeudall said. 

CERB-like program could help, says professor

One tactic would be for the government to implement a similar strategy to the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) rolled out during the COVID-19 pandemic, she said, adding that learning from that program – what worked, what didn't – should be applied to any new approach.    

Solutions like this are essentially a form of universal basic income, Yeudall said. 

"That's that floor that you don't want your fellow, your neighbours to fall below because there's societal costs associated with that," she said. 

On Friday, the federal government announced more than $6 billion in aid for businesses impacted by U.S. tariffs and relaxed some employment insurance (EI) rules to help workers.