Manitoba food bank visits have nearly doubled since 2021: report

Maralee speaks with Richard Matern of Food Banks Canada about the growing number of people across Canada accessing food banks.

A charitable organization representing food banks across the country is warning about escalating food insecurity in recent years—including in Manitoba.

According to Food Banks Canada’s 2025 HungerCount report, monthly food bank visits across Canada have nearly doubled since March 2019, increasing by 99.4 per cent. The report notes that March 2025 saw nearly 2.2 million visits to food banks across the country.

“In many cases, operational budgets are not infinite at the food bank level. So in turn, they’ve had to reduce the amount of food they’ve given,” said Research Director Richard Matern with Food Banks Canada.

He said 23 per cent of food banks across the country have run out of food in 2025 before demand was met—up by 10 per cent since 2021.

“It’s always upsetting to see the numbers continuing to increase when we know that it’s accompanied by substantial levels of food insecurity amongst the people who are accessing food banks,” said Matern.

In Manitoba, food bank visits have increased by 97 per cent since 2021 and are up just over 17 per cent since last year, according to the report.

Numbers for this year show nearly 65,000 people visit Manitoba food banks each month.

Marten said the cost increase for housing and food—which he says have both increased by over 25 per cent in the past five years—is exacerbating the situation and putting a strain on Canadians. Meanwhile, he said wages have increased by around 16 during that same time.

“So, there’s a large mismatch there. People’s purchasing power has been declining,” he said.

“And on top of that, you’re having some significant gaps in our social safety net, where when people lose work, or if something happens, or if they fall ill, they are not being caught by our social safety net because of these gaps.”

The report also notes that 19 per cent of people accessing food banks have a job, up from just 12 per cent in 2019. As well, 33 per cent of food bank clients are under 18 years old.

Despite the worsening statistics, Matern said he’s pleased to hear about early indications relating to the upcoming budget—specifically on Canada’s National School Food Program and the commitment to automatic tax filing.

“Those are two key things that will make an important impact. However, we still are looking for changes in regard to expanding EI (Employment Insurance) and then some of these specific affordability measures that we’ve mentioned in the report.”

The full Food Banks Canada’s 2025 HungerCount report can be found online.

-With files from CTV’s Maralee Caruso