Monthly food bank visits soar to record 2.35 million in Canada, report finds

Food Banks Canada is sounding the alarm as monthly food bank visits rose to 2.35 million in 2026, up from 2.2 million last year. 

That’s an increase of 117% from 2019, the organization said in its 2026 HungerCount report.  

Food Bank’s Canada’s annual research study encompasses the country’s more than 5,500 food banks and community organizations. 

“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,” Food Banks Canada CEO Kirstin Beardsley said in a press release.

Nearly one in five food bank clients (18%) are employed, compared to just over one in ten (12.2%) in 2019. 

READ: Even full-time workers struggle to afford food in Canada, study finds

One-third (32.5%) of food bank clients are children—representing nearly 776,000 monthly visits in 2026. 

Seventy two per cent of clients live in market rent housing, and people with the lowest incomes spend on average 60% of their disposable income on housing alone.  

Since 2021, food prices have increased by approximately 30%, housing costs by 28% and transportation costs by nearly 24%. 

The Yukon saw the largest year-over-year increase in monthly visits, up 24.2% since 2025, followed by British Columbia (14%) and Saskatchewan (11.8%).

Food Banks Canada is urging governments to take action across a number of key areas.

The organization has called for modernized Employment Insurance, a parliamentary review on the adequacy of social assistance, investment in critical infrastructure and support for Northern communities.