New Food Ontario policy calls for elimination of means test
To test or not to test?
That is the question facing Al Martens, administrator of the Simcoe Caring Cupboard food bank.
At issue is a new policy direction set down by Feed Ontario that eliminates the use of means tests at affiliated food banks across the province.
Means tests are used by some food banks, like the Simcoe Caring Cupboard, to determine a person’s eligibility for help. Food banks that use a means test have until April to decide, Martens said.
“We’re at the point where we may bow out of Feed Ontario, if it becomes a stipulation that we have to sign something and say we’re not going to use a means test,” Martens said. “If we don’t sign, it will really hurt our clients because Feed Ontario does a great job.
“But I’m pretty firm about this (maintaining a means test) because if we eliminated it, I don’t think we’d be doing justice to either society or our clients.”
Feed Ontario is the umbrella organization for food banks across the province. It works with industry and communities to end hunger and poverty. Previously known as the Ontario Association of Food Banks, it distributes food to food banks across Ontario that are part of its network.
In October 2022, for example, Feed Ontario distributed more than 450,000 pounds of food to food banks across the province.
Martens said he respects and appreciates the work done by Feed Ontario.
The Caring Cupboard receives food from Feed Ontario. Some of that food stays in Simcoe and some is shared with other area food banks.
If the Caring Cupboard decides to continue with the means test, it will no longer be eligible to receive donations from Feed Ontario.
“That will hurt and we’ll have to make that up somehow,” Martens said. “But as much as I appreciate the work Feed Ontario does, this is a matter of principle.
“We believe in means testing and our clients understand what we’re doing and why.”
There are people who will take advantage of food banks if such measures are not in place, Martens said.
Martens said the purpose of the means test is not to prevent people from accessing the service, but rather to decide the level of need.
“We don’t do it to disqualify people,” Martens said. “We recognize that there are different levels of poverty.
“We look at their income, and their expenses including rent to determine how often they can come to the food bank.”
Many food banks in larger centers don’t ask those kinds of questions, Martens said.
“We’re not trying to discourage people from visiting the food bank,” he said. “We want to serve the individual needs and not paint all who need food bank help with the same brush.”
At a food bank where no questions are asked, anybody can visit and it doesn’t take long for people to figure out that they can either spend $200 at a grocery store or go to a food bank get food for free, Martens said.
On the flip side of that debate, there are some food banks that limit visits to once a month and for many people that isn’t enough. A means test gives the food bank officials they knowledge require to give people the amount of support they need, he said.
“We look at the individual and what are their needs and to understand that you have to ask questions,” Martens said.
Martens made the comments when asked about Feed Ontario’s annual report.
The report, released Nov. 28, found nearly 600,000 people accessed emergency food support last year, visiting more than 4.3 million times.
Although high inflation has had an impact on food bank use, the report points to “decades of insufficient investments in quality jobs, the provincial social safety net and affordable housing as the primary drivers of this growth.”
Simcoe Caring Cupboard provides assistance to about 100 people a week and Martens said there has been an increase in visitors.
But the increases are nowhere near those being reported by Feed Ontario.
Andrea Waters, of Feed Ontario, said there needs to be a distinction between food bank usage, the report and the policy direction on means tests.
The data in the 2022 annual report pre-dates Feed Ontario’s policy on means testing so there is no correlation between testing and food bank usage, Waters said.
For the past six years, there have been year-over-year increases in food bank usage and visits. Since 2008, the number of those visiting food banks hasn’t gone down, Waters said.
There are a number of reasons as to why many people don’t use a food bank including the use of a means test.
“We’re here to support people, we’re here to help so we think it’s important to eliminate that practice,” Waters said.
Those who use food banks when they don’t need to are the exception not the rule. Feed Ontario is not making rules for the exceptions, Waters said.
To download a full copy of the 2022 Hunger Report, or to find out more about food banks in Ontario, please visit: www.feedontario.ca/research/hunger-report-2022 .
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