More Canadians than ever rely on food banks to make ends meet, with new data showing a 90% uptick in visits over the last five years.
In March of this year, Canadians made over two million trips to a food bank.
According to the new data from Food Banks Canada, visits are up 6% from last year due to rapid inflation, housing costs, food insecurity and insufficient social support.
The organization’s CEO Kirstin Beardsley said food banks are on “the brink” of what they can sustain as demand continues to skyrocket with low-income Canadians seeking immediate help.
Food Banks Canada’s report is calling on the government to implement measures to help with rent assistance and monthly payments for low-income households struggling to keep up with increasing food costs.
The organization published its HungerCount 2024 report on Monday, which calculated 2,059,636 visits to food banks across Canada in March alone, marking a 90% increase compared to March 2019.
According to the report, one-third of food bank recipients were children, a growing trend that saw nearly 700,000 monthly visits this year.
Additionally, 18% of food bank recipients are gainfully employed and 70% are in the rental market.
“Compared to before the pandemic, there has been a significant increase in two-parent households with children under 18 accessing food banks — from 18.8% in 2019 to nearly 23% in 2024,” reads the report.
“Two-parent families who access food banks are more likely to live in larger urban areas of 100,000 or more, which contributes to the higher usage rates in those areas. This trend is consistent with other research findings that show households with children have been especially hard hit by rapidly rising costs of living.”
The report recommended “a groceries and essentials benefit,” which Beardsley said could be made possible by modifying the existing GST quarterly credit given to low-income Canadians.
Food Banks Canada surveyed Canadians across the country and found that many are struggling with the fact that they have had to resort to food banks for assistance.
“It is really worrisome to admit that you can’t provide for yourself,” said one respondent.
“It is hard to accept that you’ve reached the point that you are the one who needs help,” said another.
The HungerCount reports reveal a steady upward trend in monthly visits, increasing by 17% in 2021, by 15% in 2022 and by 32% in 2023.
“But we’re asking for it to be increased and made monthly so that it can be a more predictable payment to folks who are really in need,” said Beardsley.
“It’s really to offset those essential costs, the increases in rents that people are seeing, the increases in cost of essentials like food.”
Food banks have also been increasingly strained due to international students accessing their services.
A new Greater Vancouver Food Bank policy is now prohibiting first-year international students from receiving free food.