According to the newly released Food Banks Canada HungerCount 2023 report, relentless inflation and a broken social safety net have caused many people who never thought they would need a food bank to walk through the doors for the first time.
Key findings from the report include:
- Food bank use rose to the highest levels in Canadian history in 2023.
- Food bank use among people who are employed continued to increase to record levels. In 2023, 17 per cent of food bank clients reported employment as their main source of income, compared to 12 per cent in 2019.
- The top reasons people accessed a food bank this year were food costs, housing costs, low wages or not enough hours of work.
- One third of food bank clients are children (representing over 600,000 food bank visits in March 2023).
- To create a Canada where no one is left behind, and no one goes hungry, all levels of government must adopt a dual approach to address the root causes of food bank use by addressing low incomes and poverty and the skyrocketing costs of living.
The milestone report – the only research study encompassing the country’s 4,750+ food banks and community organizations – shows the devastating impact of rapid inflation and inadequate social supports on poverty, food insecurity and hunger in Canada.
