More Ontarians turned to food banks in the past year than ever before, says the Ontario Association of Food Banks in the 2009 Ontario Hunger Report.

Ontario has appointed the head of Toronto's Daily Bread Food Bank to head a panel of anti-poverty advocates to advise the government on a long-awaited review of its welfare system.

The 25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction warns that the province risks missing its target unless further action is taken in their new report Making Good on the Promise: Evaluating Year One of Ontario's Poverty Reduction Strategy.

The Ontario Deprivation Index was developed by Daily Bread Food Bank and the Caledon Institute of Social Policy to provide a list of items that are commonly seen as necessary to have a standard living above the poverty level.

TTC Riders, on the web at ttcriders.ca, is a new organization created to give a voice to the interests and concerns of hundreds of thousands of Torontonians who use public transit.

View the submitted designs at an open house in the City Hall Members' Lounge from Dec. 4 to 6 from 12:00 to 6:00 p.m. each day.

A FREE event hosted in partnership with The AGO Youth Council

Friday Dec 4th, 6 - 8 pm
Art Gallery of Ontario
Anne Tannenbaum Gallery School - 317 Dundas Street West Toronto

• Launch of AQSAzine Issue #2 Immigration/Migration & Sex/Love/Marriage & Making Noise! Muslim women and trans people video project As well as the launch of Jasmine Magazine - the first Palestinian Magazine in Toronto!
• Showcasing videos, visual art, readings by Azza Abbaro, Shadi Eskandani, Sidrah Ladin, Sara Mir, Samira Mohyeddin, Shara Mohammed, Golie Moulaie, Sahar Rizi
• Musical performances by Farheen Beg & Arun Chaudhuri and Tanya Jacobs
• Drag performance by Raja Jalebi and Sheesha YaDil
• With Silk Screening and Zine Making Workshops

Rosario Marchese, MPP for Trinity-Spadina, is hosting an information session on the HST and its costs to local residents. Thurs. Dec. 3rd, 7-9pm, Trinity Community Recreation Centre.

On Sunday November 29, from 2-4, join panelists in a dialogue on how the tenets of faith address issues of poverty and homelessness. U of T Multifaith Centre at 569 Spadina Ave.

Based on their "Taking Culture Seriously in Community Mental Health" project the Centre for Community Based Research (CCBR) is offering a workshop for leaders to make mental health services more culturally responsive.