Rising food insecurity is putting pressure on rent payments

Food bank use in Ontario has increased for the ninth year in a row, a sign of rising financial pressure that could affect rent payments in the province.

The annual Hunger Report from Feed Ontario shows that more than one million people made 8.7 million food bank visits between April 2024 and March 2025. That’s 10,000 more people than the year before and an 87% increase since the 2020 Hunger Report.

Food bank staff across the province were quick to challenge common assumptions about who shows up at their doors. As one worker told CBC Thunder Bay, food insecurity is so widespread that it often includes employed people, two-parent families, and first-time visitors.

Food bank staff also reported a recurring theme in conversations with guests: people cutting back wherever possible – cancelling internet and television services, passing over more nutritious but more expensive groceries – in an effort to make ends meet.

In more severe cases, staff report guests who are unable to cover rent despite these sacrifices, or who have already lost their housing.

For property managers, this context matters. Many tenants aren’t simply choosing not to pay rent, they are forced to make impossible trade-offs.

With more people under financial strain, late or missed payments may become more common. Preparation helps, and that means having systems in place to respond efficiently and fairly.

Using tools like PayProp, you can:

• Send automated payment reminders that encourage tenants to pay to the best of their ability

• Track arrears accurately and transparently

• Follow up quickly when payments are missed, without escalating unnecessarily

Beyond day-to-day management, property managers can also support local food banks directly, through donations, volunteering, or amplifying calls for the provincial government to step in and help with the food insecurity crisis.

More renter behaviour headlines

The rise of lifelong renters in Canada – PayProp blog

Confessions of the working poor – Maclean’s

Winter 2025 renter feedback survey – Rentals.ca