In this episode, we sit down with Neil Hetherington, CEO of the Daily Bread Food Bank, for a wide-ranging conversation about poverty, hunger, and the alarming rise in food bank use across Toronto and beyond.We discuss the findings from Daily Bread’s 2025 "Who’s Hungry?" report, which shows food bank visits hitting a record 4.1 million this year — a staggering 340% increase since 2019. Hetherington explains why food insecurity has shifted from a temporary emergency to a long-term structural crisis, and what the data reveal about the pressures forcing people deeper into poverty. He breaks down the main drivers of hunger — including unaffordable housing, stagnant wages, and the growth of precarious work — and why so many people with jobs and post-secondary education are still unable to afford the basics.We also explore how the housing crisis is fueling food insecurity, the growing number of single adults falling into poverty, and the rise in food bank use among people with disabilities. Finally, we talk about what listeners can do right now to support their communities — from advocating for stronger social policies to taking simple, practical actions that make a meaningful difference.If you care about poverty reduction, housing affordability, disability justice, or the growing crisis of hunger in Canada, this is an essential conversation.Support the Daily Bread Food Bank this holiday season:https://www.dailybread.ca/give-now/ways-to-give/Topics include:Food insecurity • Daily Bread Food Bank • Who’s Hungry report • poverty in Canada • housing crisis • precarious work • single adults in poverty • Canada Disability Benefit • National School Food Program • fresh food tax credit • social policy • income supports • Toronto affordability • economic inequality • anti-poverty advocacyWhere to Find Us:Social Accounts:YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ProgressCanadaInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/progress_canada_podcastFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/progresscanadapodcastBlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/progresscanada.bsky.socialLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/progress-canada/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@progress_canada_podcast Podcast Platforms:RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/1027adaac/podcast/rss Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6Etut7tXvL8yN4PjQ96pHH?si=7d80390f146a4f07Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/8dfa624c-13a8-4268-a977-b3bc509b6cd7/progress-canadaApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/progress-canada/id1802911774 YouTube Podcasts: https://www.youtube.com/@ProgressCanada/podcasts