And big increases in food bank use show we’re failing at both housing and food security
Nearly three in four (71.8%) food bank clients rent in the private market, meaning that rising rents and worsening rental affordability have become significant drivers of food bank demand, the just-released annual report on food bank use across Canada shows. As housing costs consume a growing share of household budgets, more households are left with too little income to consistently afford food and other essentials.
In March 2026, Canada’s food banks recor
ded 2,355,075 visits, the highest number ever recorded. That is 8.7 per cent higher than last year and more than double the number from before the COVID-19 pandemic. Hamilton food banks get more than 20,000 visits a month. A third of those relying on food banks are children. What’s driving more and more people to food banks is the cost of essentials that are rising faster than wages. Since 2021,
- food prices have increased by approximately 30%,
- housing costs by 28%, and
- transportation costs by nearly 24%.
In Hamilton, rents for the most affordable 25 per cent of for-profit units have been increased much faster than overall rents—47 per cent between 2018 and 2024.
Among the hunger report’s recommendations are calls to significantly expand funding for deeply affordable, supportive, co-operative, non-profit, and public housing; protect existing lower-cost rental housing; require transparent annual reporting; and examine options to strengthen direct affordability supports for renters, including continuing or replacing existing housing benefits. You can read this excellent and alarming report here.