Food and proper nutrition are critical for a functioning society and a healthy work force.  A healthy labour force leads to higher life expectancy, higher labour productivity, lower health costs, and an overall higher standard of wellbeing.  Food prices, in Ontario, have been increasing at a faster rate than social assistance benefits, forcing recipients to spend a greater portion of their allowance on food. Today, many Ontarians face poverty and hunger, and are forced to use food banks to meet their nutritional needs.  However, food banks are not a permanent solution to poverty and hunger.

The poor still pay more: Challenges low income families face in consuming a nutritious diet was written by Milway, J., Chan, K., Stapleton, J., & Cook, B. and published in 2010 by the Institute for Competitiveness & Prosperity, Toronto Public Health & Open Policy Ontario.