Food affordability

Food insecurity is a serious health problem

Across our service area nearly 1 in 5 households are food insecure. This means that these households have inadequate or unreliable access to food because of a lack of money. Food insecurity is a serious public health problem. It impacts physical and mental health1.

Some households are more likely to experience food insecurity than others. Food insecurity is more common in households that:

An unacceptable choice: paying rent or buying groceries

Each year, Public Health Sudbury & Districts surveys the price of a variety of food items from 10 local grocery stores. This survey is called the Ontario Nutritious Food Basket (ONFB). The ONFB is used to see how affordable food is by comparing the cost of the food basket and housing to various household income scenarios (PDF, 414 KB). . The 2025 results indicate that some households must make the choice between eating and paying for other core living expenses.

HouseholdMonthly incomeRent
(% of income)
Cost of the ONFB
(% of income)
What's left?
Family of 4, Ontario Works (2 school age children)$3,017$1,840
(61%)
$1,287
(43%)
-$110
Family of 4, minimum wage (2 school age children)$5,116$1,840
(36%)
$1,287
(25%)
$1,989
Family of 4, refugee claimants, minimum wage (2 school age children)$3,358$1,840
(55%)
$1,287
(38%)
$231
Family of 4, median income (after tax) (2 school age children)$9,865$1,840
(19%)
$1,287
(13%)
$6,738
Family of 3, Ontario Works (2 school age children)$2,783$1,840
(66%)
$959
(34%)
-$16
Family of 3, Ontario Works (2 preschool age children)$2,980$1,462
(49%)
$753
(25%)
$765
Pregnant person, Ontario Disability Support Program$1,589$869
(55%)
$475
(30%)
$245
Family of 2, Ontario Works (formula-fed infant)$2,070$1,462
(71%)
$587
(28%)
$21
Family of 2, Ontario Works (breast-fed infant)$2,110$1,462
(69%)
$455
(22%)
$193
One-person, Ontario Works$907$869
(96%)
$449
(50%)
-$411
One-person, minimum wage$2,954$869
(29%)
$474
(16%)
$1,611
One-person, Ontario Disability Support Program$1,549$869
(56%)
$449
(29%)
$231
One-person, Old Age Security and Guaranteed Income Supplement$2,135$869
(41%)
$318
(15%)
$948

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What can be done?

The root cause of food insecurity is poverty. Charitable food programs such as food banks are our primary response to food insecurity. However, charitable food programs do not address poverty. We need a sustainable income solution to this problem2.

We can do this by:

Resources

More information about food insecurity can be found by visiting the following resources:

Contact us for more information on food, food insecurity, nutrition, and healthy eating.

References

1 Li T, Fafard St-Germin AA, Tarasuk, V. (2023) Household food insecurity in Canada, 2022. Toronto: Research to identify policy options to reduce food insecurity (PROOF)  PROOF – Identifying policy options to reduce household food insecurity (utoronto.ca)

2 Ontario Dietitians in Public Health. (2020). Position Statement and Recommendations on Responses to Food Insecurity. Retrieved from: https://www.odph.ca/odph-position-statement-on-responses-to-food-insecurity-1

 

This item was last modified on October 14, 2025