2 Toronto restaurants are offering free meals to those in need. But some say they shouldn't have to

Two Toronto-area restaurants are offering free meals to those in need this holiday season as the affordability crisis continues to push more residents to the brink.

The meals are being offered as food bank usage skyrocketed this year both in the city and overall in Ontario.

"Everybody is struggling for food. And people, especially the middle class, are not even able to pay their bills after working two jobs," said Rajesh Chamoli, owner of Samaira's Kitchen in Leslieville.

Chamoli's restaurant began offering free meals a month ago. Since then, it has provided more than 650 meals to those in need, he said.

"We thought, what is something that we can give back to the community? And that's how we started," he said.

Those who come through their doors for a free meal are mostly people from a nearby seniors' building and those living in community housing, he said.

"People who are homeless, things like that. I've seen the same people for five weeks in a row now," he said.

But the cost of food has been rising for residents and restaurants, and Samaira's is under increasing pressure, said Chamoli.

According to the Who's Hungry report from the Daily Bread and North York Harvest Food Bank showed that more than 2.5 million people used a food bank in Toronto from April 2022 to March 2023 — a 51 per cent increase from the previous year.

The report says food bank visits in 2023 are anticipated to surpass three million.

Food bank use is growing at the provincial level too. A November report by Feed Ontario, a collective of hunger relief organizations, found the number of people who used food banks in the province went up by 38 per cent from April 1, 2022 to March 31, 2023.

Stepping up, despite rising costs

Another business offering free meals is Twilight Family Restaurant and Bar in Scarborough. In an Instagram post on Dec. 1, the restaurant encouraged those going hungry to send them a message.

"It's not the first year that we've been doing this, we've done it the past five years," said Vanie Narine, who helps run the restaurant owned by her husband.

During the pandemic, the restaurant also donated meals to healthcare workers.

Narine has encouraged people who have responded to the Instagram post to come to a Christmas Eve meal the restaurant is holding. Despite increasing expenses, they want to give back to the community, she said.

"Even through all of that, we still try," she said.

"It's always good to invest in our community…with their support, that's why we're still here, even through the pandemic, even after the pandemic," said Narine.

Neil Hetherington, the CEO of Daily Bread Food Bank, told CBC Toronto the restaurants opening their doors is an example of the community stepping up to fill a need despite the precarity they face.

"They're dealing with the rising cost of food, and yet they continue to give back. So I think we need to celebrate that. But, we have to ask the question, why is it that they need to do this?" he said. "Why is it that restaurants are having to step up?"

Employed people relying on food banks

Hetherington said the community is rising to the occasion because multiple levels of government have failed.

"There's a lack of affordable housing and the cost of food is rising at such a dramatic rate, that without the community coming together, people will continue to go hungry."

Daily Bread Food Bank CEO Neil Hetherington says he's impressed by restaurants offering free meals. However, he says restaurants are under a lot of economic pressure and governments need to tackle the affordability crisis. (Ken Townsend/CBC)

It's also alarming that more than half of the 120,000 people who used food banks for the first time in 2023 are employed, said Hetherington. "They are individuals who have done everything right…yet they can't make ends meet," he said.

In the Who's Hungry report, the food banks call for affordable housing to be built faster, saying those costs are eating up Canadians' pay cheques.

Last month, the federal government announced $1.2 billion in loans for Toronto rental builds. In total, 2,644 homes will be built across seven projects. That announcement came soon after Toronto city council approved a new housing plan that will build 65,000 rent-controlled homes by 2030.

Ontario's Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services told CBC Toronto in a statement the provincial government is continuing to invest in programs to make life more affordable.

The province provided a five per cent increase to ODSP income support rate in the fall of 2022 and raised it by another 6.5 per cent in the fall of 2023. It's also provided $96 million to help non-profits, including food banks.