A new report released by Food Banks Canada reveals that visits to food banks across the country have risen by 20 per cent since 2019, a level of demand not seen since the 2008 recession.
Published Thursday, the report is based on a research study involving more than 4,750 food banks and community organizations across the country. Titled HungerCount 2021, it sheds a light on the increasing demand for food bank services across Canada.
Kirstin Beardsley, chief network services officer at Food Banks Canada, notes that while food bank use was high in Canada prior to the pandemic, current conditions are creating the “perfect storm” for a rapidly growing number of visits to food banks across the country.
“You've got high housing costs, you've got high food costs, and now you've got pandemic-related job losses and the claw-back of government supports,” she told CTV News Channel Thursday evening. “We're seeing that is having a real effect on the number of people who need our support.”
While food insecurity exists in communities across Canada, it’s also largely impacted by regional factors such as labour markets and cost of living, explained Beardsley. The report points to provinces such as Quebec, Alberta and Ontario as having experienced the largest increases in need, at 38 per cent, 29.6 per cent and 23 per cent, respectively.
“It is driven by increasing job loss,” said Beardsley. “The higher number of urban centres in these provinces have seen astronomical growth. In some cases, food banks have seen their client numbers double since before the pandemic.”
The report also found that one third of clients are children, despite representing 19 per cent of the population, and 1.3 million Canadians visited food banks in March of this year alone.
Among the report’s key policy recommendations is introducing a national rent support program to help Canadians struggling to pay their rent or put food on their table. According to Food Banks Canada, just under 70 per cent of all food bank clients in 2021 live in private rental market housing. Additionally, the vast majority spend most of their income on rent and utilities, leaving little to cover the cost of food.
“When you've got low-income folks who are paying above 50 per cent – and in the lowest income brackets, it's actually upwards of 70, 80, 90 per cent of their monthly income is going towards rent -- it's an untenable situation,” said Beardsley.
By providing support to help clients pay their rent, this will leave them with more spending money for food, Beardsley said.
“Food insecurity in Canada is really an issue related to low incomes and poverty,” she said. “That's why people go to the food bank. It's not really about food much at all.”
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