Record numbers of British Columbians turned to food banks this year to feed themselves and their families.
A report from Food Banks BC found that more people with full-time jobs continued to need support from the food bank.
“While it is deplorable that anyone in our province is unable to access the food they need, it is the normalization of this situation that must be among our gravest concerns,” the executive director of Food Banks BC, Dan Huang-Taylor said in the foreword of the report.
“For an increasing number of people, the food bank is no longer a temporary supplement during a difficult period, but a necessary, entrenched lifeline of support.”
The report found that 1.3 million British Columbians, or 24.4 per cent, are experiencing food insecurity.
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In March 2025, 113,606 people used a B.C. food bank, which is a nine-per cent increase over 2024 and a 44-per cent increase since the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Children make up a sizeable share of people using food banks, with the report stating that in 2025, 33,000 children received food from them, which equated to 31 per cent of all clients.
“At the start of last year was the first time we saw over 100,000 clients, unique individuals come into our food banks and we’re exclipsing that every single month now,” Huang-Taylor told Global News.
BC Food Banks said many facilities around the province reported shortages of food and donations, which limited how much food they could distribute.
“Data from the HungerCount highlights who is using food banks and why client numbers continue to rise,” the report states.
“Since 2019, the data shows not only substantial increases in the number of individuals and visits, but also a growing share of families and employed clients.”
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The report found that people using food banks said rising food and housing costs are outpacing stagnant wages, with the average Canadian household predicted to spend $800 more on groceries in 2025 than in 2024.
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Food Banks BC said food banks are not a solution to food insecurity and poverty must be addressed through policy.
The organization said it would like the government to focus on the following policy areas: Invest in the charitable food sector to build community food security; set food insecurity reduction targets; strengthen wages and income supports so people can afford basic needs and support Indigenous food sovereignty to ensure access to traditional foods and support Indigenous food initiatives.
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