The Inside Track
About hunger in Canada
- Details
- Category: General
- Published: Sunday, 30 December 2012 00:00
Many people do not realize the extent of hunger's reach in this country. Each month, close to 900,000 Canadians are assisted by food banks, and 38% of those helped are children and youth.The problem of hunger is a persistent one, with food banks providing comparable levels of food and other assistance for the better part of a decade.
Who is turning to food banks? ...
There is no single, typical profile. The people helped include families with children, employed people whose wages are not sufficient to cover basic living essentials, individuals on social assistance, and Canadians living on a fixed income, including people with disabilities and seniors.
Consider these figures from HungerCount 2012:
93,000 people each month access a food bank for the first time
38% of those turning to food banks are children and youth
4% of adults helped are over age 65
11% of people assisted are Aboriginal
52% of households helped receive social assistance
18% have income from current or recent employment
14% receive disability-related income supports
14% of food banks ran out of food during the survey period
55% of food banks needed to cut back on the amount of food provided to each household
(source: www.foodbankscanada.ca)
