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Food Banks Canada

OVERALL FINDINGS

In March 2024, there were over 2 million visits to food banks in Canada — the highest number in history — representing a 6 per cent increase compared to 2023, and a 90 per cent increase compared to 2019. In addition, there are signs that the food-banking system is reaching its absolute limit.

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THE DATA

Canada
ALL
% First Nations, Métis, or Inuit people [1] 9
% Racialized communities [2] 45.5
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[1]

Test

[2]

 “Racialized communities” refers to whether survey respondents indicated that they belong to a visible minority group as defined by the Employment Equity Act. The question was first included in the 2021 HungerCount survey, and so there are no results from 2019.

Canada Click to see provincial/territorial data NL BC NS QC ON YT NT NU PEI NB MB SK AB
33%
ARE CHILDREN
Representing 700,000 visits, an increase of over 300,000 visits per month compared to five years ago
42%
ARE SINGLE
Single-person households remain the most common household type accessing food banks in Canada
40%
ARE ON SOCIAL ASSISTANCE OR DISABILITY-RELATED SUPPORTS
Those receiving provincial social assistance as their main source of income represent 40% of households accessing food banks

18%

18% of food-bank clients are currently employed, the highest proportion ever recorded

12.2%

receive provincial disability support

7.7%

7.7% of food-bank clients are seniors, up from 6.8% in 2019
nearly 1 in 10 receive pension income

23%

are two-parent families with children, compared to 19% in 2019

4,117,206

is the total number of meals and snacks served in March 2024 (does not include hamper programs)

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OUR MANDATE

Food Banks Canada provides national leadership to relieve hunger today and prevent hunger tomorrow in collaboration with the food bank network in Canada. We do this by maximizing the collective impact of the network, strengthening the local capacity of food banks and advocating to reduce the need for food banks.

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POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS

For all our policy recommendations,
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Overview

Overview

A dual path toward a better road ahead

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Overview

Rebuilding Canada’s Social Safety Net

Rebuilding Canada’s Social Safety Net

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Rebuilding Canada’s Social Safety Net

Solving the Affordable Housing Crisis

Solving the Affordable Housing Crisis

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Solving the Affordable Housing Crisis

Helping Workers With Low Incomes Make Ends Meet

Helping Workers With Low Incomes Make Ends Meet

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Helping Workers With Low Incomes Make Ends Meet

Addressing Northern and Remote Food Insecurity and Poverty

Addressing Northern and Remote Food Insecurity and Poverty

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Addressing Northern and Remote Food Insecurity and Poverty

OUR METHODOLOGY

The annual HungerCount is Food Banks Canada’s signature report documenting food bank use in Canada. It is a cross-sectional census survey of most food bank agencies, organizations, and programs, within and outside of the Food Banks Canada network. The HungerCount provides a point in time snapshot of food bank use in Canada.

Food Banks Canada is always looking for ways to improve the HungerCount report. If you have questions about the report, or ideas on how we could improve it, we would like to hear from you. Please get in touch at info@foodbankscanada.ca and put HungerCount in the subject line of your message.

To learn more about our data collection and analysis processes for HungerCount 2024, click here to download the full PDF report.