Each year, Food Banks Canada publishes HungerCount, the only national study of food bank use across its network of more than 4,750 food banks and community organisations. The 2023 edition reported 1,935,911 visits in March 2023 alone — an increase of 32.1 per cent over the previous year and of 78.5 per cent over 2019.
Two further details stayed with me. Children accounted for roughly one-third of those served. And 17 per cent of food bank clients were employed, compared with 12 per cent in 2019.
The human reality behind the figure
Statistics of this magnitude can numb rather than move us. It helps to remember that each visit represents a person making a difficult decision — often for the first time — to ask for help. Many are parents. Many work. Many never imagined needing a food bank.
Receiving such visitors with dignity is itself a significant undertaking. It requires trained volunteers, welcoming spaces and systems that respect privacy.
The strain on the helpers
Food banks are overwhelmingly powered by volunteers and small teams. A sudden, sustained rise in demand places enormous pressure on them: longer shifts, more complex logistics and the emotional weight of serving neighbours in difficulty. At the same time, as other surveys have shown, formal volunteering in Canada has declined.
This combination — rising need and thinning volunteer capacity — is precisely where capacity-building matters most.
How support can help
- Efficient systems for intake, inventory and scheduling free volunteers to focus on people rather than paperwork.
- Skilled volunteers in logistics, data and technology can multiply the effectiveness of existing teams.
- Partnerships with farms, grocers and other agencies improve supply and reduce waste.
- Wraparound connections to employment, benefits and digital-skills programmes address circumstances beyond the immediate need for food.
A food bank should never be merely a place where food is handed out. At its best, it is a place where people are met with respect and connected to what comes next.
This article is commentary and personal reflection, not news reporting. Facts and figures are drawn from the publicly available sources listed below; the views expressed are the author’s own.
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