A new report says more people are using food banks in the Greater Toronto Area.

According to the study — titled "Who's Hungry: Faces of Hunger" — food banks were visited 1,123,500 times from April 2011 to March 2012.

Richard Matern, the study's author, says the statistics show an overall increase of 18 per cent in visits over the last four years.

The study — prepared by the Daily Bread Food Bank — also found that more children and adults reported going hungry at least once a week.

The Daily Bread Food Bank, which provides food and meals to 170 agencies across the GTA, released the report today to coincide with the launch of their annual Thanksgiving Day food drive.

This year the group's goal is to raise $400,000 and collect at least 180,000 kilograms of non-perishable food for the holiday season.

Gail Nyberg, the organization's executive director, says the study also shows that clients spend an average of 71 per cent of their income on shelter, which leaves little for food.

"It is so important as we fight for policy changes that lift people out of poverty, that we have food available," Nyberg told a news conference at the Ontario legislature.

"For every client served, there is someone out there not coming to food banks because they are not feeling comfortable," she said.

Sima Dini — who came to Canada as a refugee — says she's grateful for the service food banks provide.

"Without that extra food we were receiving, we would not have been able to survive," she says.