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The number of Albertans forced to turn to a food bank in order to put food on the family table has taken a huge jump in 2025, according to the latest numbers from Food Banks Canada.
The 2025 Hunger Report, released on Monday, said there was an average of 210,541 visits made to Alberta food banks in each month of this year.
That’s a jump of 21.8 per cent compared with 2024 and the second-largest increase in food bank use in the country.
Only the territories, where food bank use increased by 22.9 per cent year over year, saw a bigger spike.
The Food Banks Canada 2025 Hunger Count shows monthly food bank visits in Alberta jumped by 21.8 per cent this year, compared to 2024.
Courtesy: Food Banks Canada
Of those Albertans who relied on a food bank, the report said 75,968 visits, more than a third, were for children under 18 years of age.
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Nationally, there were 2.166 million visits to a food bank in March — an increase of five per cent compared with March 2024 and almost double the number of visits made to food banks in 2019.
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More than half of all visits — 51.4 per cent — were made by women aged 18 and older.
The authors of the 2025 Hunger Count point to the increasing cost of living, especially rent and housing, which leaves less money for people to spend on food, as the biggest contributor to the increase in food bank use.
The report, which warns that poverty and hunger are being normalized in Canada, also makes several recommendations to reduce food insecurity in Canada.
They include tackling the root causes of poverty through such measures as changes to the social safety net, including enhanced Canada Disability Benefits, investing in more affordable housing, introducing a groceries and essentials benefit for low-income Canadians and changing existing tax deductions to provide more financial relief to residents of the North and Indigenous communities.
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