The HungerCount report presents results from an annual study of more than 4,000 food banks and other food programs in every province and territory
In March 2015, 852,137 people received food from a food bank in Canada. More than one-third of those helped were children.
Food bank use in March was 1.3% higher compared to the same period in 2014 and 26% higher than in 2008, before the start of the global financial crisis. Half of the provinces experienced increases in food bank use in 2015. Hardest hit was Alberta, where unemployment increased by 10% between March 2014 and 2015 in the wake of the dropping price of oil. Three-quarters of food banks in this province reported an increase in use. Nationally, 54% of food banks reported an increase in the number of people requesting food assistance.
The need for food banks spiked drastically in 2009 and has hovered at record levels ever since.
