Food bank use spikes as more Manitobans struggle to get by
CBC News | Posted: November 4, 2014 4:34 PM | Last Updated: November 4, 2014
More Manitobans are being forced to use food banks.
According to a new report released Tuesday morning by Food Bank Canada, usage rose 2.4 per cent (1,462 people) in the province last year.
That's the second-highest level since 2004.
“We're finding more folks who are not able to get into employment or are not getting into good paying jobs where they have the benefits and they have even full time hours,"said Marla Somersall, president of the Manitoba Association of Food Banks.
"You know, folks are working two and three part time jobs. And in our food bank we certainly see 23 per cent of our folks are employed and they're still needing to use the food bank.”
Food Bank Canada's annual HungerCount study provides one of the most up-to-date national indicators of poverty. The study highlights the factors driving the need for food banks and the continued high use of food banks in Canada.
In Canada as a whole, more than 840,000 people received food bank assistance in March 2014, one per cent higher than the same snapshot period last year. More than a third were children and nearly half of households helped were families with children.
With more people turning to food banks, the resources of food banks are being stretched as they try to respond to the need, she said.