Some 43,000 residents used Food Banks Mississauga’s vast network of agencies and food programs more than 513,000 times in the past year in what the organization says is a record number of visits in its 40-year history.

As Food Banks Mississauga begins its annual Thanksgiving Drive, which was launched on Monday, its recently released Annual Impact Report shows the number of food bank visits in Canada’s seventh-largest city remains 650 per cent higher than 10 years ago and is now the “new normal.”

Prior to the latest record-breaking number, nearly 49,000 people in need made more than 503,000 visits to FBM’s network the previous year, which marked a 20 per cent rise from the 12-month period before that.

Food Banks Mississauga’s 2026 Thanksgiving Drive, which runs until Oct. 16, aims to raise $900,000.

Food bank officials say that “ambitious goal reflects the prolonged food insecurity emergency in Mississauga, as the organization reports experiencing over half a million visits for the second year in a row.”

Food Banks Mississauga CEO Meghan Nicholls said she hopes the city, as it usually does, thinks about those in need.

“Thanksgiving is meant to be a time of abundance, centred around food. As we prepare to gather with our loved ones, tables overflowing with food, we can’t forget about our neighbours who won’t be able to do the same,” Nicholls said in a news release on Thursday. “Someone walks through the doors of one of our food programs every 22 seconds they are open. This year marks our 40th anniversary. Food banks began as temporary ’emergency rooms’ and have now become necessary ‘family doctors’ due to a lack of systemic support.

“As our provincial and federal governments prioritize cross-border economic concerns, we can’t lose sight of those in our own community who are most at risk,” she continued. “Please think of your neighbours in need and donate to Food Banks Mississauga this Thanksgiving.”

Once again, the Thanksgiving Drive is sponsored by Keurig Dr Pepper Canada, FBM says.

Cynthia Shanks, the company’s vice-president of corporate communications, said “we believe that through our collective efforts, we can make a meaningful difference in our neighbourhoods, because no one should have to wonder where their next nutritious meal will come from.”

Food Banks Mississauga’s 2025 Thanksgiving Drive raised $883,560 to exceed its $800,000 goal.

For more information about this year’s drive, visit the organization’s website.

(Cover photo: Food Banks Mississauga)


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