Food bank visits in Canada reached a record 2.35 million in March 2026, up 8.7 per cent from a year earlier, as rising costs for housing, food and transportation leave more people struggling to afford basic necessities, according to Food Banks Canada's annual HungerCount report.
The report found monthly visits had increased 117 per cent since 2019, prompting the organization to call on the federal government to strengthen income supports, modernize employment insurance and invest in affordable housing and food infrastructure.
The study draws on data from more than 5,500 food banks and community organizations across Canada. Its findings show that food insecurity increasingly affects employed people and children, while housing costs consume a substantial share of the disposable income of people with the lowest earnings.
"HungerCount 2026 is the story of what happens when millions of people are out of options," said
Kirstin Beardsley, chief executive of Food Banks Canada. "In the past, most people in Canada could absorb a small financial setback - a car repair, a family illness, a modest increase in food prices at the grocery store. Those days are over. Canada's bleak new reality is that millions of people are making impossible trade-offs every day as they choose between food or rent."
Workers and children account for significant share of visits
The report found that 18 per cent of food bank clients were employed in 2026, compared with 12.2 per cent in 2019. Children accounted for 32.5 per cent of clients, representing nearly 776,000 monthly visits.
Housing costs were another major factor identified in the report. About 72 per cent of food bank clients lived in market-rent housing, while people with the lowest incomes spent an average of 60 per cent of their disposable income on housing alone.
Food Banks Canada reported that food prices had increased by approximately 30 per cent since 2021, while housing costs rose 28 per cent and transportation costs increased by nearly 24 per cent over the same period.
The figures point to mounting pressure on household budgets, with the organization arguing that existing income-support programs are not adequately addressing the needs of people facing financial hardship.
"This does not have to be Canada's story," Beardsley said. "To truly build a Canada where we take care of each other, the federal government must move swiftly to modernize EI, double the Canada Workers Benefit and invest in critical infrastructure to improve food access and support a more affordable and resilient future."
Calls for employment and income-support reforms
Food Banks Canada's policy recommendations include permanently modernizing employment insurance to better reflect the needs of today's workforce. The organization wants eligibility rules revised to account for part-time, seasonal and irregular work, as well as measures to address worker misclassification and establish a contribution-based route to coverage for self-employed and gig workers.
It is also calling for the maximum Canada Workers Benefit to be doubled for individuals and families, with the income eligibility threshold raised to at least the poverty line. Both the benefit and its eligibility threshold should be indexed to inflation, the organization said.
The report recommends changes to the Disability Tax Credit system, including a centralized process for determining disability status outside the tax system and automatic federal disability certification for people already receiving provincial or territorial disability assistance.
Food Banks Canada also wants the federal government to use the definition of disability in the Accessible Canada Act as the starting point for federal disability programs.
Another recommendation calls for a joint parliamentary study of the adequacy of provincial, territorial and on-reserve income support. The proposed review would be conducted by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities, along with the Senate Standing Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology.
Housing and food infrastructure among priorities
The organization is also urging governments to expand investments in affordable housing and food distribution infrastructure. Its recommendations include establishing a National Housing Accord to renew and expand funding for deeply affordable, supportive, co-operative, non-profit and public housing.
Other proposed measures include accelerating housing construction through federal land, financing and tax policies, and tailoring the federal Build Canada Homes initiative to the needs of urban, suburban, rural, remote, Northern and Indigenous communities.
Food Banks Canada wants up to $500 million from the Food-Link Fund directed toward strategic infrastructure for the food bank network, which it says would help strengthen Canada's domestic food network.
The report also identifies Northern affordability as an area requiring additional action. Recommendations include adding a Northern supplement to the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit, adjusting eligibility thresholds and payments for geography and inflation, and reforming Nutrition North Canada to establish clearer food affordability targets and strengthen public reporting.
Regional demand varies across Canada
Ontario recorded the highest number of monthly food bank visits in the report, at 846,724, an increase of 10.9 per cent from 2025 and 149.3 per cent from 2019. Quebec reported 785,889 visits, up 5.3 per cent year over year and 127.7 per cent from 2019.
In Alberta, monthly visits reached 230,196, an increase of 9.3 per cent from 2025 and 156.3 per cent from 2019. British Columbia recorded 250,505 visits, up 14 per cent year over year and 100.9 per cent since 2019.
Saskatchewan reported 61,859 visits, an 11.8 per cent annual increase, while Manitoba recorded 71,127, up 9.5 per cent. Comparisons with 2019 were unavailable for Manitoba because of changes in its provincial network structure and data collection methods, although the report said visits had risen 115.6 per cent since 2021.
Among the territories, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut recorded a combined 3,677 monthly visits, up 29.1 per cent from 2025. The report cautioned that comparisons with previous years were not possible because of changes to data estimation methods.
Food Banks Canada, which began conducting HungerCount in 1989, said the annual study is intended to provide insight into the causes of food insecurity and poverty and inform policy responses. The organization reported that, since 2010, it has distributed more than $1.2 billion in food supports and provided more than $292 million in funding to strengthen local food bank capacity.