Food Banks Canada says food insecurity is up but there's small cause for hope

A report from the charity Food Banks Canada says food insecurity continues to climb, but new government programs could ease financial strain.

The organization's 2025 "Poverty Report Card" gives Canada a failing grade on food insecurity and unemployment, but a slightly more palatable "C" for legislative progress, making the overall mark a "D".

Citing data from Statistics Canada, the report suggests one-in-four Canadians deals with some form of food insecurity, ranging from worrying about running out of food to going full days without eating.

The data comes from the Canadian Income Survey, which was conducted in 2023 and released this year.

But charity CEO Kirstin Beardsley says the introduction of the Canadian Dental Care Plan and the National School Food Program both hold promise in helping struggling Canadians.

She says the federal government should double down on strengthening the social safety net so it doesn't fall to charities to keep people from going hungry.

"While the federal government isn't getting a grade you'd necessarily want to bring home to your parents with a 'D,' there has been some legislative progress that we are starting to see the effects of in our data," she said by phone ahead of the report's release Tuesday.

"And so we want to ensure that that momentum continues so that we can see grades improve over the coming years."

The report cites Statistics Canada data that shows the unemployment rate among young people in March 2025 had climbed by a third since 2023, but Beardsley noted the employment insurance program hasn't changed to account for the gig economy.

"It needs to be realistic for today's workers and just needs a full look-through to make sure that a program built in the '90s makes sense for the workforce of 2025, especially as we head into turbulent economic times," she said.