Aiysha Hussain, a board member of Project Ramadan, says no one should experience food insecurity, especially in a country that offers so much.
“Food shouldn’t be something people aren’t able to have access to,” Hussain said
As inflation raises food prices out of reach to many, thousands of families face food insecurity across the Greater Toronto Area. One initiative, Project Ramadan, a not-for-profit organization part of Muslim Welfare Canada, is doing its part to help battle the crisis.
This month, Project Ramadan is giving away food baskets to families in communities across the GTA, as well as shelters and food banks.
Each basket includes household staples such as chicken, rice, lentils, flour, and salt. Once the baskets are filled, families can pick them up. The remaining baskets are put onto a truck and are then taken to food banks and shelters.
Women’s Habitat was one of the shelters that received the food baskets.
The Director of philanthropy at Women’s Habitat Lina Almanzan said that working with Project Ramadan is a privilege.
“It has been a privilege to be a part of the initiative and the feeling that we have seeing their spirit of service, it’s inspiring. We are so grateful,” Almanzan said.
They have been in partnership with Project Ramadan for several years. Their partnership began before the COVID-19 pandemic started.
Even long before the pandemic started, clients at Women’s Habitat have suffered from food insecurity.
Carla Netto, the director of Women’s Habitat, said the food insecurity crisis has only increased since the COVID-19 pandemic. Which places women in further vulnerability as they try to escape from other issues like violence.
“Just like violence, the food insecurity was already there. And as we work to support women to decrease these barriers by providing food support, sometimes it’s in the form of actual non-perishables,” Netto said.
More than 80 per cent of Women’s Habitat clients, all women and children, rely on food banks and initiatives like Project Ramadan.
The clients were not spoken to because of safety reasons. Mahbooba Hashimi the housing worker said the clients were very happy as she handed the baskets to them.
“Putting that smile on their face is like a million dollars for us,” Hashimi said.
Netto said more can be done but for the Women’s Habitat team and clients, Project Ramadan has been paving the way for communities to meet their needs.
“We definitely need to do better. Folks like the project Ramadan really set the tone and they lead in terms of making sure they respond to the needs of the community,” Netto said.
Project Ramadan started as an initiative by a few teens within the Greater Toronto Area when they realized the impact food insecurity had in their community.
“We are really grateful to be a part of that. We are really humbled,” Hussain said on behalf of every volunteer and member of Project Ramadan.
In the most recent Who’s Hungry report, the Daily Bread Food Bank along with the North York Harvest Food Bank reported that in 2023, one in 10 Torontonians experienced food insecurity. There were two million visits to food banks. That is 51 per cent higher compared to the number reported in the previous year.
Sarah Watson the director of community engagement at North York Harvest Food Bank said the number is higher than what is recorded.
“When you look at food banks all across Toronto there were over three million visits, and that is actually not even the full number of visits,” Watson said.
“Those are only visits to food banks that are supported either by North York Harvest or the Daily Bread Food Bank which are the two largest food banks in the city,” Watson said.
She said there are other programs to consider when looking at the number of people who access food banks.
“There’s also Salvation Army programs and lots of independent programs so the numbers actually quite a bit higher than that.”
The annual report says the number of people visiting food banks is estimated to double.
As food insecurity continues to grow, so does Project Ramadan.
“After 15 years, the initiative has grown so much. We’re helping support not only families within the Scarborough-Toronto area but also in Ottawa and all the way to Nunavut,” Hussain said.
Project Ramadan intends to help support 6,000 families in March. Hussain said she believes that no one should suffer from food insecurity, especially in a country like Canada that offers so much.
“Food should be accessible to everyone,” Hussain said.