More people are turning to food banks in Canada as food insecurity grows. The 2026 HungerCount released by Food Banks Canada shows there were 2.35 million monthly visits to food banks across the country this year. The annual report on food bank use also showed since 2019, usage has risen by 117 per cent with an almost nine per cent increase in the past year alone. “This report should be treated as an emergency signal and a call to action,” said Ash Avery, executive director of Feed Nova Scotia, in a news release Wednesday. “We are reaching a crisis. With food bank usage now at its highest in Canadian history, and more people struggling to meet basic needs than ever before, it’s a crisis that needs urgent action now.” According to Feed Nova Scotia, people visited food banks in the province 46,627 times in March of 2026 – a 7.4 per cent increase from 2025. Since 2019, food bank visits across Nova Scotia have risen by 82 per cent and persons are up 53 per cent. One third of people supported by food banks are children. “We are seeing numbers we have never seen before,” said Avery. “More families and households are having to make impossible trade-offs every day between paying rent, paying essential bills, or putting food on the table.” The national report also noted since 2021, food prices have gone up 30 per cent, housing costs by 28 per cent and transportation costs by 24 per cent. On a national level, almost one in five people who access food banks have jobs but cannot make ends meet. In Nova Scotia, nearly one in four food bank clients report employment as their main source of income – up from 14 per cent in 2019. Forty-two per cent of food bank clients in Nova Scotia rely on provincial income assistance. “We know that we can’t feed our way out of food insecurity – this is an income and affordability crisis. Households across the province are struggling more than ever and food banks cannot keep up. It’s unsustainable,” said Avery. Feed Nova Scotia is calling for action at both the provincial and federal levels to help by increasing assistance programs. For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
