The number of Toronto residents relying on food banks this year is growing, attracting people who are not familiar with reaching out to charities for help.

The Ontario Association of Food Banks says it is serving 20 per cent more clients than a year ago. And a charity that usually serves the homeless is now seeing people who've never relied on handouts before.

'Now you get working poor and people who have never been in a mission or a food bank.'— David Smith, executive director of Scott Mission

Gail Nyberg, executive director of Toronto's Daily Bread Food Bank, said many new faces have shown up at the food bank this Thanksgiving holiday period.

Nyberg said her new clients are often parents who have been laid off or had their hours cut because of the recession.

"They were able to hold on for awhile but now they're beginning to all fall off [employment insurance] because their time is up, and they're going on to assistance and they just can't make it," Nyberg said.

The growth in Toronto residents using food banks comes as the first glimmer of positive economic news emerged last week. Ontario added 62,000 full-time jobs in September, according to Statistics Canada.

Although there was a surge in full-time employment, thanks mainly to improvements in the manufacturing sector, the province lost 49,000 part-time positions.

More people rely on charity

The Scott Mission is also seeing an influx of people during the holiday long weekend. It will host as many as 400 people on Monday for a Thanksgiving dinner.

David Smith, the charity's executive director, said the type of people using his organization has began to transform.

"Now you get working poor and people who have never been in a mission or a food bank," Smith said.

"You can see it on their faces, they don't need to talk about it, they are very apprehensive about sitting with all of the so-called homeless people and now they're a charity case themselves, at least this is how they feel."

One-quarter of the meals the Scott Mission is providing on Monday have been donated by the Daily Bread Food Bank.