The most recent data from Statistics Canada show that the proportion of Canadian families experiencing food insecurity increased between 2021 and last year, from 16% to 18%, even though approximately 80% of these families had incomes above the poverty line.
The federal agency explains that income alone cannot explain food insecurity. Rather, it results from the interaction between various factors such as income stability, assets, debt, access to family or community support and the cost of living.
Last year, those most at risk of food insecurity included single mothers, Indigenous families and Black families.
In 2022, 48% of single mothers living below the poverty line and 40% of those above the line were experiencing food insecurity. Those most at risk were those with other interrelated risk factors, such as not having a high school diploma, being unemployed, and living in rental housing.
The rate of food insecurity among Indigenous families living above the poverty line was measured at 31%.
Additionally, racialized families living above the poverty line were more likely to report living in food insecurity than their non-racialized and non-Indigenous counterparts.
Less among seniors
Statistics Canada’s Canadian Income Survey found that food insecurity affected all age groups, but seniors were least likely to experience it.
In 2022, the rate of food insecurity among seniors living below the poverty line was 21%, which was lower than the average rate recorded among all families living below the poverty line, 35%. The rate among seniors living above the poverty line was 9%.
Statistics Canada puts forward the hypothesis that the lower vulnerability of older people is based on their better financial health in general.