Two years after the end of the recession, Canadians continue to need help putting food on the table with more than 851,000 people visiting a food bank in March of this year, according to a new survey.
In total, 851,014 people walked through the doors of a food bank, a number that is down 2 per cent from 2010 but which marks a significant increase from before the 2008 recession.
"Food bank use is 26 per cent higher than in 2008, and this fact sends a clear message: the effects of the recession are still being felt across the country," states the report HungerCount 2011.
"As a result, a near record number of people are unable to afford enough food for themselves and their families."
Prior to the 2008-2009 global recession, food banks in Canada had recorded four years of consistent declines.
Here are some key findings from the report:
- Almost half of Canada's food banks reported an increase in the number of people they served in March 2011, compared to the same period in 2010.
- In total, 93,085 people -- or 11 per cent of the total -- in Canada visited a food bank for the first time in March 2011.
- The total number of people who visited a food bank in March 2011 is down 2 per cent from 2010, but 26 per cent higher than in 2008.
- The 2011 statistics mark the second highest rate of food bank use on record. 2010 holds its status as the highest food bank use ever recorded.
Interestingly, 38 per cent of those who received help in the survey period were children and youth under the age of 18, the report said. Another 10 per cent identified themselves as First Nations and 11 per cent were immigrants or refugees -- a number that soared to 18.5 per cent in large cities. In total 4 per cent were high school students.
"It has become harder to find and keep a good job, and nearly impossible to afford even basic food, clothing, and adequate shelter if one is receiving government assistance for any length of time. It is an unfortunate reality that food banks have grown, by necessity, to fill the gap," the report states.
Among its recommendations the report calls on governments to increase funding for affordable housing and to expand subsidies for low-income earners, to provide further help for low-income seniors and to improve Employment Insurance benefits for workers, and especially for older workers facing layoff.
"These facts show hunger is a monthly, weekly and even a daily concern for Canadians across the social spectrum," said Katharine Schmidt, executive director of Food Banks Canada during a news conference on Tuesday in Ottawa to announce the findings.
"Because of economic change, illness, family upheaval or other unexpected life situations any one of us could find ourselves needing help and face the heartbreak of watching our children go to school or go to bed hungry."
When broken down provincially, the numbers of food banks users vary widely across the country. Following are the numbers of people who visited food bank in each province and territory in March 2011 (change from 2008 in brackets)
- Yukon and Northwest Territories: 2,420 (80.6 per cent)
- B.C.: 90,193 (15.5 per cent)
- Alberta: 58,735 (74.9 per cent)
- Saskatchewan: 20,665 (16.4 per cent)
- Manitoba: 55,575 (37.3 per cent)
- Ontario: 395,106 (25.7 per cent)
- Quebec: 155,539 (22 per cent)
- New Brunswick: 18,539 (18.6 per cent)
- Nova Scotia: 22,505 (33 per cent)
- Prince Edward Island: 3,095 (7 per cent)
- Newfoundland and Labrador: 28,642 (5.1 per cent)
