Food bank demand in Calgary hits 1,000 hampers daily despite data showing improved food security

The gap between what Statistics Canada reports about food insecurity in Calgary and what the Calgary Food Bank sees at its distribution sites has never been wider.

Recent data from poverty reduction organization Vibrant Communities Calgary shows food insecurity fell to 24.9 per cent in 2024, down from 31.7 per cent in 2023. The decrease reflects a rise in median real income and slower inflation. However, severe food insecurity—where people skip meals or go multiple days without eating due to cost—remained unchanged between 2023 and 2024, suggesting Alberta's most vulnerable people are not improving at the same rate.

At the food bank itself, the reality is starkly different. In 2023, the Calgary Food Bank was distributing around 400 hampers daily. Now they average 1,000 a day. CEO Michelle From attributes the surge to city population growth, increased cost of living, and changing demographics of who needs help. More seniors are relying on the food bank, as are more people the food bank calls "working poor"—those with full-time jobs who still cannot make ends meet.

"Gone are the days of perhaps the stereotypical food bank user, and you know, maybe those days never existed," From said. Despite the increased pressure, the food bank has been able to meet current demand, but concerns grow when elevated need persists. From also noted that many people who need help don't seek it—some due to geographic inconvenience, others due to stigma. She urged people struggling to reach out and encouraged Calgarians who want to help to visit the food bank's website to donate food, money, or volunteer time.

Vibrant Communities Calgary's Michelle James noted that more recent developments not yet reflected in the data—including U.S. tariffs and Alberta's shift from AISH to the Alberta Disability Assistance Program—could reverse the positive trend in food insecurity figures.