OttawaA new report by Ottawa Public Health shows one in four families are experiencing some form of food insecurity. The report, which monitors food affordability each year found about a 10 per cent increase in families experiencing food insecurity in the last five years. The 2025 report included the costs of infant formula for the first time, showing additional challenges for families in the city.One in four families are experiencing some form of food insecurity. Listen to this articleEstimated 4 minutesA new report by Ottawa Public Health found the average cost of infant formula to be $189 a month. (David J. Phillip/AP)One in four families is experiencing some level of food insecurity, a new report by Ottawa Public Health has found.The 2025 Monitoring Food Affordability in Ottawa report, which shares the results of the annual Nutritious Food Basket survey, found families experiencing food insecurity has increased by about 10 per cent in five years.The report, which will be presented to the Ottawa Board of Health on Monday, paid particular attention to the cost of infant formula for the first time. It found gaps between what social assistance provides and what families are actually paying each month.”It’s another piece of data to show that there are financial challenges and another reason why people can’t make ends meet,” Ottawa Public Health senior nutritionist Emily Coja said.Coja’s team authored the report, finding the average cost of infant formula to be $189 a month.This exceeds the $145 a month provided by the Special Diet Allowance, a social assistance fund through the Ontario Works program.Similarly, the report found the additional food costs per month for breastfeeding equal $78 and $96 for pregnant women. The Pregnancy/Breastfeeding Nutrition Allowance provides only $40, which the report finds is inadequate to cover these additional costs.Registered Nurse Kristina Dunkley said physical and psychological barriers and social pressures might cause families to resort to formula more often. (Mathieu Deroy/CBC)According to the report, the proportion of women who are exclusively breastfeeding their infants from discharge of the hospital or midwifery has decreased from 66 per cent in 2013 to 48 per cent in 2024.Registered nurse Kristina Dunkley said for some families, breastfeeding is not always an option.”It’s things like physical barriers, psychological barriers and social pressures that might cause families to be resorting to formula more often, just because of the feasibility as well as the reliability of formula,” she said.Dunkley said affordable access to infant formula is a health equity problem.Some families earning minimum wage jobs might make too much to qualify for the Special Diet Allowance, she said, but still require financial assistance.”Formula or breast milk really are the only options for infants up until at least 12 months of age and I think it is important that Ottawa policymakers take that into consideration,” Dunkley said.Dunkley added there are other potential impacts on families. “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.Belal El-Cheikh, the food security manager at Tungasuvvingat Inuit, said infant formula is in high demand at the biweekly food bank. (Mathieu Deroy/CBC)Black and Indigenous communities are disproportionately affected by food insecurity due to systemic racism and the lasting impacts of colonialism.The report found 47 per cent of the Black community and 40 per cent of the Indigenous community are experiencing food insecurity.Belal El-Cheikh, food security manager at Tungasuvvingat Inuit, said infant formula is a product always in demand for families in their community.The biweekly food bank receives donations from the Ottawa Food Bank, but formula is not always available, meaning Tungasuvvingat has to dip into its own funding.”Formula’s costly as parents know and any basic items for children, wipes and diapers, they can be in the thousands,” El-Cheikh said.”If you look at it on a monthly basis, that can be tens of thousands of dollars that we’re spending just on formula alone.”WATCH | The other costs of pricey baby formla:Food banks, dieticians say infant formula out of reach for some Ottawa familiesThe 2025 Nutritious Food Basket prepared by Ottawa Public Health looked at the affordability of infant formula for the first time.As a new father, El-Cheikh said it is “mind-boggling” to imagine not being able to afford infant formula.”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 said.The report listed next steps to be taken by the health authority, including raising awareness about food insecurity, collaborating with community and social services, and supporting community partners addressing food insecurity.ABOUT THE AUTHORJoy SpearChief-Morris is the recipient of the 2025 CJF-CBC Indigenous Journalism Fellowship. She is an Indigenous Black journalist and member of the Kainai Blood Tribe in Alberta. Joy has had bylines in The Globe and Mail, The Narwhal, The Walrus, The Toronto Star, CBC and Sportsnet.
Costs of infant formula contributing to food insecurity, new report finds
