Food Banks Canada Releases Hunger Count 2009

At 9:30 this morning, Katharine Schmidt, Executive Director of Food Banks Canada, and Jean Pigeon, Executive Director of Moisson Outaouais, released their annual HungerCount study at Queen's Park. HungerCount is the only annual national report on hunger and food bank use in Canada.

Perhaps it's not too surprising, in a year when the failing North American economy was top news, that HungerCount 2009 opens with the statistic that 794,738 Canadians used food banks in March of 2009: 18% more than in March of the previous year. In Alberta, the demand for food banks rose 69% this year, with a 20% increase in Nova Scotia and a 19% increase in Ontario. Of the Canadians who rely on food banks, 37% are children. Food banks are struggling to serve the demand for their services.

In the same time, the use of meal programs in community service agencies and schools has risen by 5%. This may not seem like much, but demand has risen by 37% since 2007.

Food Banks Canada offers ten recommendations, including the implementation of a federal poverty prevention and reduction strategy, continued investment in federal transfer payments and increased support to the Canada Child Tax Benefit, child care, the Guaranteed Income Supplement to seniors, and affordable housing. The full text versions of HungerCount 2009 and earlier reports going back to 1997 are available online.