Record number of working Canadians now relying on food banks
Why It Matters
As the affordability crisis worsens, more Canadians are turning to food banks and other non-profits to help with resources. This places additional strain on already underfunded systems, and the problem is likely to worsen. Experts say there are solutions, however.
It has been well-documented that food bank usage is on the rise across Canada, but the biggest shock may be that people who recently considered themselves financially stable now make up a significant percentage of users.
In Manitoba, 31 per cent of food bank users are employed, according to a new report from Harvest Manitoba’s Harvest Voices.
“Rising housing costs, childcare shortages, and wages that don’t match the cost of living are putting enormous pressure on households,” said Meaghan Erbus, director of network, advocacy and education at Harvest Manitoba.
The report found that 35 per cent of food bank users in Manitoba are graduates from a post-secondary institution.
Inflation, lack of affordable housing, insufficient social assistance and low wages are factors driving food bank use, the Harvest Manitoba report shows.
Families with children make up 45 per cent of food bank users in Manitoba. Compared to five years ago, that is a 40 per cent increase.
Food bank use on the rise in B.C.
The findings are similar to those in B.C., where more food bank clients also report being employed, yet still require food bank assistance.
More than 23 per cent of users in B.C. have a job, a nine per cent increase from 2021, according to this year’s Food Banks BC Hunger Report.
It highlights how the growing cost of living and inflation are not keeping up with wages.
“The trend of an increasing number of people holding down full-time jobs yet still needing support from the food bank has continued,” said Dan Huang-Taylor, executive director of Food Banks BC.
“It is the normalization of this situation that must be the gravest of our concerns.”
Overall visits to B.C. food banks have increased 79 per cent since 2019 and nine per cent more in the past year.
In three of Vancouver’s five regions, low salaries are the leading reason people can’t afford food and must turn to a food bank, according to the report
A Statistics Canada report shows B.C. has the highest cost of living, with one dollar spent there equal to $0.82 spent in New Brunswick.
The number of British Columbians experiencing food insecurity has increased to 24 per cent.
“For an increasing number of people, the food bank is no longer a temporary supplement during a difficult period,” said Huang-Taylor, “but a necessary entrenched lifeline of support.”
What’s next?
Across Canada, food banks could face even more pressure next year.
A new study published by Dalhousie University Wednesday expects the average family will spend $994.33 more on groceries in 2026.
The increase means a typical family of four would spend $17,571.79 annually on food.
That number is more than half the annual income of most food bank clients.
Experts are calling for minimum wages to rise and for public and private employers to pay living wages in order to keep pace with inflation.
“All private and public sector employers should pay their employees, whether direct or on contract, at least a living wage,” reads a report authored by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives in August.
“Moreover, governments must ensure that grant agreements with non-profit service providers are sufficient to enable them to pay their employees a living wage.”
The authors also point to private employers to do the same, to ensure their workers “are not so stressed, [and are] happier, and even healthier.”
When support is provided, the negative impact on the non-profit sector is reduced.
Food bank usage, for example, highlights systemic inequities, including among people with disabilities, say experts.
However, the number of food bank users with disabilities declined by 1.3 per cent in B.C. since 2024, following the introduction of the Canada Disability Benefit.
According to the B.C. report, this suggests that social services can have a positive effect on demand for community support services.
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