Healthy eating for family of 4 costs $1,180/month, many Ottawaans cannot afford it

Over 25 per cent of Ottawa residents experienced food insecurity in 2024. That’s according to the Ottawa Board of Health on Ottawa Public Health’s (OPH) 2025
Nutritious Food Basket (NFB) survey results.

Food Banks have been sounding the alarm on increasing need throughout the year, and the NFB data solidifies the need for a coordinated response.

OPH says the average monthly cost for healthy eating for a family of four in Ottawa is $1,180. Combined with housing costs and other essential needs, the Ontario Living Wage Network says the living wage for Ottawaans is $22.80 per hour. Ontario’s minimum wage currently sits at $17.60 per hour.

While there is no publicly available data on the number of Ottawa residents making minimum wage, analysis from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) found that 15 per cent of those living in Ottawa are making below the living wage. That rate rises to 19 per cent when looking at racialized populations.

Across Canada, Black and Indigenous populations communities continue to experience the highest rates of food insecurity at 47 per cent and 40 per cent respectively. They also receive lower wagers on average with racialized men making 83 cents to the white man’s dollar in 2024, according to CCPA.

An analysis of the survey results from OPH found that a minimum wage earning family (defined as two adults and two children), would have on average $1000 to $2000 left per month for other basic needs after rent and food is paid for. Those who receive financial assistance from Ontario works could have on average $578 funds remaining for other basic needs after housing assistance is applied. Without housing assistance, these families could fall up to $1000 short per month.

These numbers also do not take into account any money being put away for savings.

The report identified 13 different family scenarios. When the average costs of food and rent is applied, nine of these 13 types of families are incurring new debt each month.

Hungry from birth

New in 2025, OPH charted the costs of infant feeding an infant formula based on a new standardized methodology developed by Public Health Ontario
in collaboration with Ontario Dietitians in Public Health.

The proportion of women who exclusively feed breast milk to their infants declined from 66 per cent in 2013 to 48 per cent in 2024. According to a study from the University of British Columbia, women who can least afford infant formula are also the least likely to feed breast milk due to systemic barriers, including unstable housing and food insecurity.

There are some supports in place to help ease the cost of infant formula. The Special Diet Allowance (SDA) offers $145 per month (or $162 per month for lactose-intolerant infants) to cover the cost of infant formula when breastfeeding is not possible or recommended. But according to OPH, the average monthly cost of infant formula in Ottawa is $189, exceeding the SDA.

But breastfeeding is not free either. OPH says the estimated monthly food costs to meet increased caloric needs for those breastfeeding are $78 per month. That is almost double the $40 per month provided by the Pregnancy/Breastfeeding Nutritional Allowance (PBNA).

Taking action

In September, Ottawa City Council unanimously voted to approve a plan directing city staff to tackle the root causes of food insecurity in the city.

The vote directed staff to advocate to both the provincial and federal governments for improvements to social assistance programs and to secure funding to tackle the root causes of food insecurity, collaborate with city departments to implement poverty reductions strategies, and align advocacy efforts with the City of Ottawa’s 10-Year Housing and Homelessness Plan.

“Municipalities need provincial and federal support to resolve food insecurity at its roots, but this support can only be accessed if they are sounding the alarm,” the Ottawa Food Bank said in support of the motion. “With more cities committing to addressing food insecurity, the province and country cannot ignore the food insecurity emergency at hand.”

The report from OPH also encourages staff to monitor opportunities to influence provincial and federal policies that could increase income supports. At this time, Bill S-206 is at second reading in the Senate, which proposes the development of a national Basic Income Guarantee framework.