Food bank use hits record high as affordability crisis deepens in Canada

Food bank use in Canada has surged to the highest levels ever recorded, with nearly 2.2 million visits in March alone, one-third of whom were children, according to a new report released Monday.

Source: Facebook (Food Banks Canada)

Food bank use in Canada has surged to the highest levels ever recorded, with nearly 2.2 million visits in March alone, one-third of whom were children, according to a new report released Monday by Food Banks Canada.

The 2025 HungerCount report paints a stark picture of the country’s worsening affordability crisis, showing that monthly food bank visits are up 5.2 per cent over last year and have nearly doubled — a 99.4 per cent increase — since 2019.

“This level of usage is unprecedented,” the organization said, warning that food insecurity is no longer a marginal issue but one affecting millions of Canadians from all walks of life.

A growing number of food bank clients—19 per cent—now cite employment as their main source of income, up from 12 per cent in 2019. That figure reflects the growing number of working Canadians who are unable to afford basic necessities amid stagnating wages and rising costs.

Since 2021, the Consumer Price Index has risen by over 18 per cent, with shelter costs up 26 per cent, food rising by 25 per cent, and transportation increasing by nearly 20 per cent. Food Banks Canada says this sustained inflation has pushed basic expenses far beyond what many Canadians can manage.

Housing costs are a key factor, especially for the lowest-income households. Those on provincial social assistance now spend an average of 66 per cent of their disposable income on rent — up from 49 per cent just four years ago. The report notes this leaves little room for other essentials and drives more people toward food banks.

Children continue to make up a disproportionate share of food bank users. One-third of all clients are under 18, amounting to 712,000 visits in March.

The report also highlights a significant rise in visits from two-parent households with children, which grew from 18.8 per cent in 2019 to 23 per cent this year.

The federal government pointed to its National School Food Program as part of its response to rising child hunger, but the Conservative Party of Canada says the program falls far short of meeting the need.

“This program is certainly far from what would normally be considered to be a ‘national’ program,” the party said in a statement Monday. “It is not solving the heartbreaking and inexcusable reality of more than 700,000 children accessing food banks every month.”

According to Statistics Canada, there are more than five million children in public schools across the country. Conservatives argue that the Liberal plan, by the government’s own targets, would provide meals to fewer than 10 per cent of those students.

“Put differently, 90 per cent of kids will get zero benefit from the Liberal plan,” the statement said.

Food Banks Canada is calling for comprehensive reforms to income support systems and housing policy, warning that food banks—originally meant as temporary relief—are now being relied on as a permanent solution.

“We are reaching a breaking point,” the report says bluntly. “Canada cannot afford to normalize hunger.”