Albertans using food banks more than ever before

New data paints a grim picture of just how many people face food insecurity in our province.

Alberta saw a 73 per cent increase in people visiting food banks since 2019. That’s more than double the national average when it comes to the number of people accessing food banks compared to pre-pandemic levels.

Data from Food Banks Canada:

• 37.1 per cent of Food Bank Users in Alberta are children
• 5.7 per cent of food bank users in Alberta are seniors
• Total food bank visits in Alberta: 155,722
• Total food bank visits in Alberta (children): 57,750

The data reflects March 2022 food bank usage. “Unfortunately our numbers have gone up substantially since then,” says Tamison Bencz-Knight, A spokesperson at Edmonton’s Food Bank, who says they are now serving more than thirty thousand people each month.

“It’s difficult for many in our community right now. It could be your friend, your neighbor, a co-worker, the senior down the block, its many people out there who are quietly needing help,” says Bencz-Knight.

The cost of groceries is up across the country, forcing more and more Albertans to turn to food banks for help. Two other major contributing factors are the cost of housing, and low provincial social assistance rates, according to data from Food Banks Canada.

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“While food banks aren’t the answer to food insecurity, we are the gap filler. Without food banks the reality is there will be tens of thousands of Albertans without access to food at all,” says Arianna Scott, the CEO of Food Banks Alberta.

She wants the government to treat it like a state of emergency and take immediate action.

Alberta’s opposition NDP echoing similar calls, demanding the governing UCP helps families make ends meet.

“They could start by putting in the emergency rate cap on utilities for the winter. They could put a cap on automobile insurance so Albertans aren’t getting hit with increased costs to use the vehicle they rely on to get to work or pick up their kids from school,” says Marie Renaud, NDP Community and Social Services Critic.

In response, the Press Secretary for the Office of the Minister of Seniors, Community and Social Services says, “We were the first to provide food banks with financial aid during the pandemic. $6 million was used to feed thousands of Alberta families.”

This inflationary crisis is not limited to our province alone. All Canadians are facing higher costs of living, which is why our provincial government has tirelessly called on the federal government to take action as well. Steps can be taken by the federal government to lower everyday costs by simply removing their carbon tax.”

“We can’t learn if we are hungry, we can’t contribute to society if we are hungry, we can’t participate in community so no matter what we do we have to make sure we have food on the table, but then we have to get down and dirty and talk about those harder conversations of what is causing this,” says Bencz-Knight.