In its HungerCount 2008 study, Food Bank Canada (formerly the Canadian Association of Food Banks) reports that Canada’s rural food banks continue to assist a significant number of people every month, and that those assisted differ significantly from those helped in more populated areas.
“We see more families with children, more seniors, and more people with disabilities in rural areas,” said Katharine Schmidt, Executive Director of Food Banks Canada. “We know that many are struggling to afford basic needs, and that the cost of housing in particular is a major issue in our smaller towns and on our farms.”
Food bank use continues to be a persistent problem in Canada:
• 704,414 people were assisted by a community food bank during the HungerCount study period of March, 2008.
• After more than a decade of robust economic health, food bank use remains 6 percent higher than in 1997, the first year for which comparable data are available.
• The number of people turning to food banks for help in an average month has not dropped below 700,000 per month since 1997.
66,394 people – 9.4 percent of the Canadian total – turn to rural food banks for help each month. Those assisted by rural food banks are more likely to be children (40 percent versus 37.1 percent overall), families with at least one child (55.2 percent of households versus 50.3 percent overall), seniors (8.5 percent versus 5.7 percent overall), and people with disabilities (14.9 percent versus 12.7 percent overall).
“One of the most striking findings of the HungerCount,” said Schmidt, “is the fact that 1 in 7 people assisted by a rural food bank live in a home they own. Food banks tell us that many of those they serve are living in overcrowded conditions, in dwellings that are in need of major repairs. Many are relying on their community food bank just to get by, and are not able to afford adequate housing, or to properly maintain their homes.”
To address the problem of hunger in Canada, Food Banks Canada is calling on the federal government to:
• Implement a national poverty-reduction strategy with measurable targets and timelines.
• Increase the value of the Working Income Tax Benefit and widen eligibility to include all households with earned incomes below the most recent low income cut-off (LICO).
• Increase the value of the Canada Child Tax Benefit to $5,000 per child, per year.
• Implement the recent recommendations of the Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry with regard to (a) increased funding for rural housing improvement and repair, and (b) a review of rural housing programs to ensure they are effectively meeting objectives.
HungerCount was initiated in 1989 and is the only national survey of emergency food programs in Canada. Since 1997, data for the study have been collected every March. The information provided by the survey is invaluable, forming the basis of many Food Banks Canada activities throughout the year. For a full copy of the HungerCount 2008 report, and for more information, please visit www.foodbankscanada.ca.
