Canadians are going increasingly hungry, according to a new report from Food Banks Canada. The 2025 Poverty Report Card found that over 25 per cent of Canadians have difficulty affording food. That’s an increase of seven percent since 2023.
Food Banks Canada used data collected from 10,000 Canadians to grade the country on various poverty indicators including access to health care, income spent on housing, and ability to buy food.
Canada received an overall grade of D for its efforts to address poverty, and an F for food security.
The report card highlights a need for Canada to improve people’s access to affordable food. It also highlights a need to support initiatives such as food banks that are working toward improving food security.
Food security and political stability
Trump’s 51st state comments last year and Canada’s recent trade war with the US have put Canadian national security on the menu. Canada has pledged to increase its military spending, and has launched counter-tariffs against America.
Becoming the 51st state would be upsetting for the majority of Albertans, and tariffs have sparked concern that Canada’s already sky-high food prices will rise further. Still, Food Banks Canada’s report card is a reminder that security means not only protecting ourselves against foreign threats, but also ensuring that our neighbours are well-fed.
Lack of access to food is not to be taken lightly. It has fueled social unrest and conflicts numerous times throughout history, from the French Revolution to the Arab Spring. When people wonder where their next meal might come from, they become more likely to turn to solutions that destabilize national security.
Well-fed people, on the other hand, are more resilient in the face of disaster and challenges, think more clearly, and maintain better social connections.
While food banks are not positioned to solve Canada’s affordability issues, they play an important role in ensuring those in need are fed.
Food banks stretched to their limits
Food banks in Alberta have faced an uphill battle in recent years to address the dietary needs of the vulnerable in their communities.
Usage has increased exponentially, driven by inflation and population growth, explained Food Banks Alberta Executive Director Shawna Bissell in an interview with TheRockies.Life.
The result is a system that is stretched to its limits.
“People that normally donate to us are donating less because they need their money to purchase food for their families, so we get less donations. We get more clients, as less people can afford the food they need to meet their family’s needs.” she said. She also said that food banks’ buying power has decreased due to rising food costs.
She noted that all of Alberta’s 113 member food banks are currently under strain.
Home-grown solutions
Like other food banks, the Root Cellar in Medicine Hat has seen exponential increase in usage. In 2019 the service was providing food for around 900 people. Today they’re serving over 4,000.
The Root Cellar has had to redirect money from education programs to their emergency food pantry, Executive Director Melissa Mullis said in an interview with TheRockies.Life.
On the chopping block was their Food First program, which taught participants basic food skills such as how to buy groceries and prepare nutritious food. At first, graduates of the program were 85 per cent less likely to use emergency food bank services. However the rising cost of living made the program less effective.
“You can’t out-budget a cost of living crisis,” Mullis said.
Still, they’ve found their remaining programs, including a community garden and morning coffee service, continue to bridge gaps between people. Often the people who come through might not have otherwise had anyone to positively relate to in their day.
“The biggest thing that we all need is connection,” she said.
“Food is the vessel that brings people to us but it’s not the food that does the teaching. It’s the conversations that happen in the kitchen. We’ve had millionaires volunteering who sat beside people in poverty, and they were relating to each other and they were teaching each other things,” Mullis said.
Access to food and social connections are not just heartwarming stories. They’re the fabric on which a strong, united society is built.
Hope on the horizon
Despite Canada’s increase in poverty in past years, there is room for hope, says Food Banks Canada CEO Kirstin Beardsley.
“While governments have not yet taken action to meet the scale of the crisis, newly introduced programs – including ambitious poverty-reduction strategies, affordable housing pilots and new social programs like the Canadian Dental Care Plan and the National School Food Program – are showing early promise for greater adoption and expansion,” she said in a news release.
“With proper long-term investment and modifications to improve access, these kinds of initiatives offer Canada a new and stronger future.”
