(Toronto) According to a network present in the main regions of Canada, the use of food banks experienced the largest increase ever recorded this year in the country.
For example, there were almost two million visits last March, 32% more than in March 2022 and 78.5% more than in March 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
The new HungerCount 2023 report from Food Banks Canada, which brings together 4,750 food banks and community organizations, explains that incessant inflation and the breakdown of the social safety net have pushed all the people who never thought they would need a food bank to walk through its doors for the first time.
The top three reasons people used food banks this year were the cost of food, the cost of housing and low wages or insufficient hours worked, according to the report. In addition, a third of food bank clients are children, which represented approximately 600,000 visits last March.
Visits to food banks by employed people continued to rise to record levels. In 2023, for 17% of food bank clients, employment was the main source of income, compared to 12% in 2019.
Food Banks Canada is calling on governments in Canada to respond by focusing on pressing affordability issues and repairing the social safety net. To do this, the organization notably proposes the establishment of a minimum income threshold today and seriously tackling the severity of the housing crisis as affordable housing options continue to diminish.
Rental assistance programs are also suggested.