Yet according to a recent report, Ottawa food insecurity continues to be a pressing concern for families. Alarmingly, every single day, one in four households is grappling with a form of hunger. Black and Indigenous communities are experiencing crises right now. The compounding barriers of systemic racism and the long-lasting effects of colonialism make their lives disproportionately harder.
The typical monthly expense of infant formula has skyrocketed to $189. This payment obviously pales in comparison to the $145 provided by the Special Diet Allowance through the Ontario Works program. This large divide between social support and everyday costs has many families unable to afford the nutrition that their infants require.
The 2025 Nutritious Food Basket report released by Ottawa Public Health has some alarming findings. In just five years’ time, the share of households with children struggling to get enough food has increased by a full 10 percent. Alarmingly, 47 percent of the Black community and 40 percent of the Indigenous community faced food insecurity.
Belal El-Cheikh, the food security manager at Tungasuvvingat Inuit, spoke to the persistent need for infant formula in his community. “You’d want to provide anything you could for your children. That’s why we’re here. We want to provide the basic amenities for our community members,” he stated.
The Ottawa Food Bank provides with monthly contributions to the biweekly food bank at Tungasuvvingat Inuit. Yet they are still failing to deliver an adequate supply of infant formula to families with the greatest need. As a result, the organization must dip into its own resources to make sure the families that struggle the most have access to this critical ve.
Registered nurse Kristina Dunkley identified multiple barriers that can lead families to a formula. “It’s things like physical barriers, psychological barriers and social pressures that might cause families to be resorting to formula more often,” she explained. Dunkley noted that exclusive breastfeeding rates have taken a nose-dive. They dropped from 66 percent in 2013 to a mere 48 percent in 2024, most likely a testament to these struggles.
Additionally, Dunkley explained the long-term nutritional repercussions of introducing infants to solids or whole milk before they’re ready. “Is this pushing families to resort to maybe doing solids a lot sooner or maybe going to transition to whole milk? … We know that’s not nutritionally complete and not going to meet the nutrients that we expect for infants,” she said.
The Pregnancy/Breastfeeding Nutrition Allowance barely averages $40 per month. This is obviously not enough, as the value of breastfeeding is estimated at $78 and costs for pregnant women are $96. This lack is emblematic of a long-standing health equity issue around access to critical nutrition for babies.
“As local advocate for food security, Emily Coja noted, these financial stresses are hardly new. “It’s another piece of data to show that there are financial challenges and another reason why people can’t make ends meet,” she remarked.”
This reality highlights the increasing alarm among parents and advocates about how rising infant formula expenses are affecting food security throughout Ottawa. Community leaders and healthcare professionals urge policymakers to recognize the vital role of accessible nutrition for infants in their decision-making.
