The majority of people relying on Toronto's Daily Bread Food Bank to feed themselves and their families are facing such high rental rates that they often have little money left over for food.

So says a new report from the non-profit charitable organization, which has urged the provincial government to help fight hunger in the Greater Toronto Area.

The Daily Bread Food Bank has released a report that says over 70 per cent of its clients can't afford food because their income is going towards housing. (CBC)

Richard Matern, the head of research for Daily Bread, said 72 per cent of the food bank's clients' monthly incomes are going towards housing.

"Spending 40 per cent is affordable," he said. "Spending anything over 50 per cent puts one at high risk of homelessness."

The average monthly income for a food bank client in the GTA is $925, according to the report, entitled Who's Hungry: 2011 Profile of Hunger in the GTA. After covering rent and housing costs, "that leaves $5.67 a day for food, clothes medicine…it's not even enough for a round trip on the TTC", Matern said.

Food sacrificed for shelter

When confronted between the choice of going hungry for a day or keeping a home, Matern said food is usually sacrificed.

"The cost of housing is a main issue for most people coming to food banks," he said, adding that many will often go a full day without having had anything to eat.

Matern said that more and more people with university and post-graduate degrees — many of whom are new Canadians with children — were having difficulty because their foreign credentials were not being recognized.

The food bank is calling on the provincial government to fix what it calls a flawed income-security system that leaves people hungry.

The report was released this week as part of the food bank's Fall Drive, running through to Oct. 14. Information about making donations to the Daily Bread Food Bank can be found at the organization's site.