A new report from Food Banks Canada shows food banks across the country were visited 1.46 million times in March, the highest number ever recorded for that month.
Nowhere is that need more apparent than in Alberta, which saw the largest growth in the country compared to pre-COVID-19 pandemic numbers, where the 2022 HungerCount shows food bank visits have increased 73 per cent.
“It’s not isolated to a rural or urban situation,” Food Banks Alberta CEO Arianna Scott said.
“It is across the province — the whole province — and therefore we have to look at it from a provincial perspective and treat it as such.”
According to local food bank officials, Lethbridge is no exception when it comes to growing food insecurity.
Local food banks saw usage increase throughout the summer months and now into the fall.
“The summer was really, really brutal,” said Michelle Parry, the Interfaith Food Bank’s client intake specialist.
“We had a lot of new clients and we’re seeing a lot of people come back that might not have been clients over the past few years.”
And those clients are coming from new demographics.
The number of employed individuals using the Interfaith Food Bank’s services is rising.
“We’re seeing that our unemployment rates are the lowest and our food bank usage is the highest,” Parry said.
“Employment is no longer a way out of poverty.”
Across Highway 3, the Lethbridge Food Bank is serving about 50 more households compared to last year.
Looking ahead, executive director Mac Nichol expects the holiday season will mirror current trends.
“We have a lot of families that will come out just for Christmas hampers,” Nichol said.
“I would foresee that number of those type of people going even higher this year. We’re planning at most 1,000 families to be supported in that time.”
Officials say the best way to support people battling food insecurity is by donating, whether through money, food or time by volunteering.