top of page

Food Banks BC 
Hunger Report 2025

Food insecurity is at a record high in British Columbia, with food bank usage soaring to unprecedented levels.

 This crisis is not a result of personal failure but of systemic issues: poverty and a frayed social safety net.

 

​​

FBBC Front Cover Image 25.11.27 A.png
The grey exterior of the kamloops food bank building is shown on a sunny day with two 5 tonne trucks parked in front. One of the trucks has a colourful food share logo and images of fresh fruits and vegetables on the side of the truck.

Hunger in British Columbia

​​Overwhelmed food banks can no longer compensate for systemic gaps.

​

British Columbia is experiencing an affordability crisis, with an increasing number of BC households unable to cover the cost of essential needs. Increased costs are also affecting BC's charitable hunger relief sector, with many food banks reaching their capacity to meet the demand.

 

Many food banks reported shortages of food and donations, forcing them to purchase more food, place limits on how much food they can distribute, or change how often their clients can pick up food. 

We've seen a 79% increase in the number of visits to BC food banks since 2019.​​​

FBBC Icon on White RGB_edited.png

Individuals Served & Number of Visits in March 2025

This graph depicts the number of individuals served and the number of visits made to BC food banks during the months of March from 2019 to 2025, excluding 2020. Although the majority of BC's food banks reported an annual increase in the number of individual clients served, there was a 1% decrease in the overall number of visits to food banks over the same period. This is a lack of capacity, not need, as many food banks have reported that they have reduced the frequency of their services to sustain demand.

FBBC Figure 1 25.11.27.jpg

Source: Food Banks Canada 2025 HungerCount.

Food Bank Use in BC: Key Findings

In a small room filled with metal racks of various sized boxes containing food items, a blonde woman in a white shirt is standing and holding a laptop in one hand while the man next to her, dressed in a black t-shirt, glasses and a red cap, is speaking with her and gesturing with his hand. In the background another person dressed in black and a beige cap is facing one of the racks of food items.
FBBC White Quote Mark.png

“We have not had to close our doors completely yet, but we have run out of fresh products and have had to give clients the choice of taking a non-perishable only hamper today or returning at another time."
— Hope Food Resource Centre

While many of those experiencing food insecurity turn to family and friends for help, choose to go without some essentials, or use food banks intermittently, our data on the 113,606 individuals that received support from BC food banks in March 2025 gives us a glimpse into the picture of hunger in our province.

​

  • 1.3 million or 24.4% of British Columbians are experiencing food insecurity.

​

  • 113,606 individuals used a BC food bank in March of 2025, a 9% increase over 2024, and a 44% surge since before the COVID-19 pandemic. 

​

  • 33,000 children received food from BC food banks, 31% of all clients.​​​​​​

Graphic showing three green donut charts. One indicates 24% experiencing food insecurity, one shows that 31% of food bank clients are children, and the third shows a 44% rise in food bank use since before the pandemic.

Since 2019, the HungerCount data shows not only substantial increases in the number of individuals and visits, but also a growing share of families and employed clients. With 1.3 million out of 5.7 million British Columbians missing meals, eating less, and worrying about where their next meal will come from, there are far too many of our neighbours facing impossible choices for themselves and their families.

Two older women stand opposite each other at a kitchen island. They are measuring out foods and sealing them into bags. The counters around them are filled with boxes and bins.

Digging into the Demographics

Analysing the identity, income sources, housing situations and reasons for accessing food banks helps us to understand where our social safety net is falling short of protecting population groups disproportionately impacted by poverty. 

​

Identity​

The 2025 HungerCount shows an annual increase in the number of racialized community members and immigrants or refugees; 9% and 4% increases respectively. ​Accounting for a third of all clients, children continue to be concerningly overrepresented at BC's food banks.

​

Income​

The number of people with employment income that are accessing BC food banks has more than doubled since 2019, making up the highest proportion of food bank client income sources. Regional variations highlight the intricate relationship between local economies, housing costs, and employment — a relationship too complex to explain fully with available data, but strongly linked to broader trends in affordability and economic opportunity across the province. 

​

Housing Type​

Market rental housing remains the most common housing type for BC food bank clients, making up 75% of clients' housing. In 2025, we continue to see an increase in the number of homeowners, climbing 1.4% to 8.7% of clients, and a doubling of the proportion of emergency and youth shelter users to 4%. 

​

Reasons for Accessing a Food Bank​​

The cost of food has emerged as the leading cause of food bank visits in BC, with inadequate income from work and cost of housing cited as other primary drivers of food bank use in BC. The average Canadian household is predicted to spend $800 more on groceries in 2025 than in 2024, and we've seen a 31.7% rise in the cost of food in BC since January 2019. 

“The rise in food bank use is no longer limited to the unemployed or unhoused. Increasingly, it’s workers who are turning to these services."
— Living Wage for Families BC (2025)

Managing the Demand

A woman dressed in black with a yellow cap is standing in a kitchen area with her arms outstretched as she moves items from one side of the kitchen to the other.

"One thing that continues to stand out is that the increase in client usage has made everything at our food bank significantly more complex."
— Kimberley Helping Hands Food Bank

Food banks are facing a dual crisis: a surge in demand coinciding with a sharp decline in support.

 

According to a Food Banks Canada network survey, 11% of BC food banks have turned clients away because they have run out of food, and 81% of food banks reported the cost of food as a challenge for their food procurement, compounded with a decrease in monetary donations.

​

Most food banks operate with minimal or no paid staff, relying heavily on volunteers for daily operations. With scarce resources stretched to a breaking point, many are struggling to maintain their current level of service.

​

Despite being stretched to their limits, and with no core funding, food banks are responding with ingenuity. Their deep commitment to community is fueling new efforts to pool resources and connect clients with supports that foster economic resilience.​​​

​

Collaboration in Action

As food insecurity rises, so too does the number of organizations fighting it. Yet, this very success creates a new challenge: more groups are now vying for the same finite pool of donations and volunteers. Rather than fragmenting their efforts, BC’s food banks are leaning into the adage that we are “stronger together.” A powerful wave of collaboration is building, with formal and informal networks emerging across the province to ensure help reaches those who need it most.

​​

Going Beyond Food: Off-ramping Clients

Food banks are innovating by becoming community hubs. In many small BC communities, they are the primary service provider for low-income households, naturally evolving into central locations for integrated social supports. These now often include employment, immigration, and social services. These formal and informal partnerships are vital, co-locating essential supports directly within a trusted community environment to help people navigate poverty.

​

A woman unloads bags of food from a freezer onto a cart, while other people in the background work at a food bank.

Policy Recommendations

Achieving a hunger-free province is possible. The data from food bank usage helps inform the strategic government investments we need to see to meet this goal.

​

While food banks are working tirelessly to meet the day-to-day food needs of their communities, they are not a solution to food insecurity. Poverty and food insecurity carry economic, social, and ethical costs to society. Research has shown that government has the power and the obligation to address poverty through policy. 

​

To this end, Food Banks BC, in alignment with the BC Poverty Reduction Coalition, proposes four pillars for policy action.

 

  1.  Build community food security: 

    • Strengthen local food systems​ and infrastructure

    • Support municipal and community capacity building 

    • Ensure stable and inclusive funding for nonprofit food organizations 

  2.  Improve household incomes: 

    • Strengthen income and disability supports ​

    • Advance wage equity 

    • Build a plan to enact a Basic Income Guarantee

    • Commit to expanding funding for universal food programs in all public schools

    • Support and fund the creation of an Indigenous Poverty Reduction Strategy

  3.  Support Indigenous food sovereignty: 

    • Recognize and uphold Indigenous food
      sovereignty​

    • Advance reconciliation through education and data

    • Increase funding and support for Indigenous
      food initiatives

  4.  Provide provincial governance and national leadership: 

    • Legislate a provincial target to reduce food
      insecurity rates by 50% by 2030

    • Establish a Cabinet Working Group, a
      Parliamentary Secretary for Food Security,
      and a multifaceted Food Security Secretariat

    • Advocate for reform at the federal level

​

Food banks demonstrate incredible resilience every day,
but charity alone cannot solve this systemic crisis. The good
news is that we have a proven solution: purposeful
government policy.

"Strengthening and rebuilding the safety net — reinforcing those ropes of support — will restore hope and provide people with the stability they need to move forward." 
— Central Okanagan Food Bank

FBBC White Quote Mark.png
White Mega Phone _4x.png

One in four British Columbians are facing food insecurity, and a third of them are children. Women, Indigenous and racialized communities, newcomers, and people with disabilities are disproportionately affected. 

History shows us that targeted investment can, and has, driven down poverty and food insecurity. We can achieve this again, by championing policies that build food security, ensure adequate household incomes, support Indigenous food sovereignty, and provide governance and national leadership.

Campbell-River-Food-Bank---Kitchen-Renovation-Crew.png

Together we can create a different future for British Columbia

Food Banks BC and our members are striving toward an end to hunger and food insecurity. Your support helps us in our efforts to alleviate hunger today and prevent hunger tomorrow for ALL British Columbians.

Interested in learning more about the state of hunger in British Columbia?
Read our full 2025 Hunger Report.

bottom of page