Food bank use continues to climb in N.L., according to new report

As the number of people turning to food banks continues to climb in Newfoundland and Labrador, one organizer is hopeful the incoming Progressive Conservative government will move quickly to address the problem.

According to Food Banks Canada's annual HungerCount report, food bank use has doubled nationally since 2019. In March, nearly 2.2 million people across Canada visited food banks. In Newfoundland and Labrador, use has increased by 44 per cent in the last six years, and eight per cent since last year.

“Food banks across the province are seeing new clients coming in to register every day,” Tina Bishop, general manager of the Community Food Sharing Association, told CBC Radio’s The St. John’s Morning Show.

“I’d like to see more awareness brought on to the issue. I'd like to see our government officials really take notice that, you know, this is at a critical point right now. We need help.”

Bishop said income support needs to be increased to match inflation, adding about 20 per cent of food bank clients are employed but still can’t make ends meet.

“We can't have a strong Newfoundland and Labrador if people are hungry,” she said.

Bishop said she wants to meet with the incoming PC government to talk about the problem and various solutions, which she said could include income support and rent control.

“We're hopeful that this government will come to the table with us," she said.

The Food Banks Canada report also writes that approximately 15,000 people in Newfoundland and Labrador had gone to a food bank this year, with a third of them children.

Bishop said any increase is concerning, as it means social programs aren’t working.

“People are really struggling in this province right now and right across Canada as well," she said.

There are a number of factors contributing to the spike in usage, Bishop concluded, including how social programs aren’t keeping up with inflation and increased housing costs meaning people are finding it difficult to afford monthly expenses of both food and rent.

“Any time your fixed expenses increase on a monthly basis, where do you draw from? You draw from your food budget, right? Because that's the most flexible and it's causing people to go hungry in this province,” she said.

The Community Food Sharing Association supports 60 food banks in Newfoundland and Labrador.