People are hungry. Feed the Need in Durham is seeing unbelievable increases in visits. In 2019, they had 75,000 visits, and they are on track to hit 240,000 this year, so the growth is exponential. And despite the generosity of our community, food and funds cannot match the demand, which has grown so quickly. I have faith in the great work that Ben Earle, his team and all the volunteers are doing, but the needs are overwhelming our safety nets. More clients are fully employed and own homes. They just cannot make ends meet as their cost of living has increased over the past few years. We are seeing this across the country.

Speaker, 96% of food bank users in Durham indicate that the reason for their visit to the food bank last year was due to the rising cost of food needed to support themselves and their families. One in four food bank users last year were first-time clients.

The bottom line is that Feed the Need, like food banks across Ontario, is being asked to respond to challenges that are the result of policy failures at the provincial level. Social assistance rates are woefully insufficient, to say the least. Housing policies will not actually address the challenges faced by residents in Durham. And employment standards do not ensure good work that pays, at minimum, a living wage.

Carolyn Stewart, the CEO of Feed Ontario, answered reporters at Queen’s Park about what the government can do to support food banks. They don’t want government funding for food banks; they want government to fund people. They want better policy that addresses underlying causes of poverty, and to look at social assistance and a proper housing plan.

So, Premier, please invest in communities, people and the systems they rely on so people can feed themselves.

Today I’d like to welcome Francis Garwe and Roselyn Sagar-Lal from the Durham Community Health Centre. Thank you for being in the House today.

I’d also like to acknowledge Nancy Henry, councillor for Ward 2 in Ajax—it’s nice to see you—and Mayor Kevin Ashe, his wife Karen, and his group from Pickering as well. Thank you for coming today and thank you for the discussion on mental health.