More Canadians can’t keep their pantries full without help.
Driving the news: Food bank usage across Canada has more than doubled since 2019, according to new data, with a record-high 2.35 million visits in March of this year. Nearly one in five Canadians who are using food banks are employed, up from around one in 10 seven years ago.
Why it’s happening: While grocery inflation has slowed as of late — September saw the smallest annual increase in nearly two and a half years — prices are still elevated after years of hikes. According to RBC data, a typical grocery basket has become 30% costlier since 2019.
Ottawa did roll out a suite of measures in January aimed at tackling food affordability, including increases to the GST tax credit for ~12 million Canadians that amounted to an extra $400 to $800 this year.
Why it matters: The spike in food bank usage, especially among employed Canadians, reflects how the cost of everyday essentials has been outpacing earnings growth. Since 2021, the cost of groceries and housing has grown 50% faster than Canadians’ average hourly pay, according to Kaylie Tiessen, chief economist at the Canadian SHIELD Institute.
As a result, about a quarter of Canadians are now experiencing some level of food insecurity.
Bottom line: Food banks have been a saviour for a lot of Canadians, but they are a band-aid solution that can’t sustain this type of volume. One in five food banks in the country are already running out of food before feeding all of their visitors.—LA
