Canada's food banks have reached the brink

Canada's food banks are quickly being pushed to the brink by increasing demand and dwindling donations.

For the past four years, Canadians have had a tough time financially. Pandemic disease and unprecedented inflation have led to high food prices, with more and more people unable to pay basic expenses.

While food banks have always worked hard to meet people's needs, doing so has become more challenging than ever, says Christine Beardsley, CEO of Food Banks of Canada. Although Canadians continue to be generous, these donations are not enough to meet the ever-increasing demand that food banks are facing.

The Canada Helps 2023 report found that 57.3% of charities cannot meet the current level of demand and 31.5% of charities raised less money than the previous year.

The report also found that the number of Canadians who turn to charities to meet their basic needs has increased by eight per cent in nine months, reaching a total of 22 per cent of all Canadians.

According to food bank officials, although food aid is great, financial aid is also really important because it is used to purchase perishable items such as meat, milk, butter and eggs.

The increase in living costs has caused more people to go to food banks, and among them, single people go to food banks the most because they have to pay their own expenses.

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