Ottawa Community Food Partnership Applauds City of Ottawa’s Motion on Food Security
The Ottawa Community Food Partnership (OCFP) warmly welcomes and applauds today’s landmark motion passed by the City of Ottawa to develop a comprehensive, city-led advocacy strategy addressing the root causes of food insecurity. This bold step signals a vital shift in municipal leadership toward longer-term, coordinated action and systemic solutions: precisely the kind of momentum OCFP has long worked to advance.
We also extend our deepest gratitude to the Ottawa Food Bank (OFB), a core partner of OCFP, for their instrumental role in leading advocacy efforts and shaping the policy direction with Councillors Carr and Kitts. Their decades of service and expertise ensured that this motion reflects both lived experience and informed solutions. Please click here to read OFB’s press release.
Partners of OCFP look forward to leveraging this momentum.
A Step Forward
The new motion tasks the City with developing a comprehensive advocacy framework to tackle food insecurity at its roots, beyond emergency responses, acknowledging that hunger is deeply intertwined with poverty, housing, social assistance, employment, health, and access to nutritious food.
Our community has long called for a city-led strategy, better coordination across levels of government, and a stronger role for local voices in shaping policy: this motion is a first step in this direction.
Why This Matters to OCFP
OCFP was founded on the idea that food security must be rooted in community collaboration, systems change, and dignity. For years, our network of agencies, including the Ottawa Food Bank and many frontline food programs, has delivered essential services while also prioritizing structural change.
This City motion, and the commitment it embodies, align closely with our strategic goals:
Bridging emergency response and prevention - while food programs remain critical safety nets, lasting change demands upstream investment and policy action.
OCFP has long championed participatory planning in which those with lived experience guide decision-making, this motion embeds consultation with community groups and expertise.
A publicly visible, consultative strategy process can help keep us all accountable to the communities we serve.
We look forward to meaningful collaboration with the City of Ottawa and all partners to bring this motion to life, translating commitments into concrete, equitable, and measurable outcomes that reduce hunger, lift households, and strengthen community resilience.
We want to particularly recognize:
Councillor Marty Carr, who moved the motion, and Councillor Catherine Kitts, who seconded.
The Ottawa Food Bank, for their leadership in drafting, consulting, and advocating for this motion.
All frontline food programs, volunteers, community agencies, and residents whose lived experience informed this moment.
OCFP looks forward to:
Engaging in City-led consultations and expert working groups to help shape the strategy’s priorities.
Holding the City accountable to timelines, transparency, and commitments.
Continuing to uplift the voices of people with lived experience of food insecurity in every stage of the process.
Elevating recommendations to provincial and federal levels to align resources and policy levers that address poverty, social assistance, affordable housing, and access to nutritious food.
Today’s motion is a hopeful and necessary action on a critical journey. With collaborative leadership, a commitment to justice, and sustained community energy, we believe Ottawa can become a model of food security for cities across Indigenous Territories/Canada.
The full revised motion:
Report / Agenda: Ottawa City Council Agenda 64 – 10 September 2025
Item / Article: Notices of Motion
Re: Advancing Food Security by Addressing Root Causes
Moved by / Motion de: Councillor M. Carr
Seconded by / Appuyée par: Councillor C. Kitts
WHEREAS access to adequate, nutritious, and culturally appropriate food is a basic human right, recognized under Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and affirmed by Canada’s endorsement of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights1
WHEREAS a growing number of households are experiencing episodic and chronic food insecurity2
WHEREAS food insecurity is defined as the inadequate or insecure access to food due to financial constraints or other barriers, and poses serious public health risks due to its association with higher rates of diseases, mental health challenges, and chronic health conditions
WHEREAS according to the Ottawa Food Bank’s 2024 Ottawa Hunger Report, the number of visits to food programs within its network has increased by 90% from 20193
WHEREAS In November 2024, Ottawa food banks provided food and household items for more than 52,800 visits, the highest number ever recorded.
WHEREAS 59% of people accessing food banks in Ontario are in receipt of Social Assistance4
WHEREAS Community partners such as the Ottawa Food Bank network, Emergency Shelters, Just Food and other justice-involved organizations, Community Health and Resource Centers and Ottawa Community Food Partnership have been sounding the alarm on the impact of social assistance rates and the Ontario Works system that are failing to meet the needs of the most vulnerable residents
WHEREAS many municipalities in Ontario have declared a food insecurity emergency in response to the increasing needs and are advocating for significant policy changes to address income inequality
WHEREAS the Poverty Reduction Strategy was approved by Council in October 2024
WHEREAS a key pillar of this Strategy is Food Security, which prioritizes policy making, funding, and coordination to address the root causes of food insecurity
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that Council direct staff to develop a strategy that will engage provincial and federal governments, other municipalities and community partners, including the Ottawa Food Bank network, Ottawa Community Food Partnership, Feed Ontario, and Food Banks Canada to address the root causes of food insecurity focusing on:
• Advocating to the Provincial government for improvements to social assistance programs including indexing social assistance rates to inflation and reviewing social assistance legislation that would permit greater income security for low- income residents.
• Advocating to the Federal government for strengthened and indexed income supports including Employment Insurance, Canada Child Benefit, Old Age Security, and the Canada Disability Benefit.
• Collaborate with City departments to implement Poverty Reduction Strategy priorities that promote equitable hiring practices, support access to decent work, and embed anti-racism measures in workplace policies and culture.
• Advocate with the Province to secure funding for organizations tackling food insecurity and the root causes, using a collective impact approach with community partners and individuals with lived experience to promote basic income, living wages, and tax benefits.
• Recognize access to affordable housing as a root cause of food insecurity and align advocacy efforts with the City of Ottawa’s 10-Year Housing and Homelessness Plan refresh, scheduled for Q1 2026, to expand investments in deeply affordable and supportive housing as essential to reducing food insecurity.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this motion be shared by the Mayor to Premier Doug Ford, Prime Minister Mark Carney, all Ottawa Members of Provincial Parliament and Members of Parliament, as well as with the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO), and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) to amplify Ottawa’s voice in growing provincial and national commitments to address food insecurity.
