33% of food bank clients are children: Report

Key Concepts

• Normalizing Poverty and Hunger: The increasing acceptance and prevalence of poverty and hunger as common issues in Canada.
• Food Bank Visits: The number of times individuals or families access food banks for assistance.
• Working Poor: Individuals who are employed but still struggle to afford basic necessities.
• Essentials Spending: The proportion of income allocated to fundamental needs like housing, food, and transportation.
• EI Reform: Proposed changes to the Employment Insurance system to better support today's workforce.
• Groceries and Essentials Benefit: A targeted financial aid program for low-income individuals to cover basic living costs.
• Food Insecurity: The state of being without reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food.

Food Bank Usage and Trends

• Record High Visits: Food Banks Canada reports that monthly visits to food banks have reached close to 2.2 million, which is double the number of visits in 2019.
• Normalization of Hunger: This surge in visits indicates that poverty and hunger are becoming normalized in Canada.

The Working Poor and Income Disparities

• Increasing Proportion of Employed Users: A significant trend is the rise in the number of employed individuals using food banks. Previously, around 11-12% of food bank users were employed; this figure has now risen to one in five (20%) food bank users.
• Income vs. Expenses: Individuals in the lower income spectrum are spending more on essentials than they earn. Specifically, about 70% of income is spent on housing, and overall, essentials like housing, food, and transportation account for approximately 125% of their incomes.
• Need for Wage Increases: To address this, wages need to keep pace with the rising costs of living.
• Cross-Sectoral Struggle: The issue affects all sectors of the economy, with individuals from various employment backgrounds struggling to make ends meet.

The Human Impact of Food Insecurity

• Reluctance to Seek Help: People do not access food banks without significant consideration. There is often a sense of shame associated with it, though food banks emphasize that this is unwarranted.
• Vulnerable Groups:
  • Seniors: Proud individuals are facing empty cupboards and find it difficult to ask for help.
  • Parents: Parents are skipping meals to ensure their children can eat and to shield them from the reality of scarcity. The decision to visit a food bank is often made when they can no longer feed their children.
• Children Affected: Approximately one-third of individuals relying on food banks are children. This lack of nutritious food impacts their ability to focus, learn, and thrive in school, which is crucial for their development and the country's future. The statistic of a third of users being children is described as "staggering" and something that should not become normalized.

Proposed Solutions and Government Action

• Call for Societal and Governmental Action: Food Banks Canada emphasizes that while all sectors of society can contribute, the focus of their "Hunger Count" report is on practical government actions to reverse these trends.
• Immediate Government Interventions:
  • EI Reform: A key push is for reforms to the Employment Insurance system. The current EI system, designed for the 1990s workforce, is inadequate for today's needs. Reforms are needed to support individuals who lose their jobs, preventing them from falling into deep poverty due to the inability of their income to cover essential expenses. The goal is to support people in re-entering the workforce quickly.
  • Groceries and Essentials Benefit: This is a proposed targeted benefit for low-income individuals to help them afford basic necessities like groceries, thereby reducing reliance on community supports like food banks.

Scope of the Problem

• Nationwide Issue: Food bank usage is not confined to large cities; it is a problem across the entire country, from coast to coast to coast.
• Doubling of Usage: Food bank usage has doubled in the last six years.
• Impact on Future: The increasing rate of food insecurity (affecting a quarter of the population) and the high number of monthly food bank users (2.2 million) are seen as detrimental to building a strong future for Canada and its ability to meet future challenges. This issue affects everyone, whether directly impacted or not, as it impacts the nation's future.

Conclusion

• Hope for Elimination: The ultimate goal expressed is for food banks to become obsolete, signifying the end of hunger and poverty in Canada.