Food Banks Canada reports that more than 5,500 food banks and community organizations serve people across Canada. In March 2025 there were 2,165,776 visits to Canadian food banks, the highest number ever recorded, 5.2% higher than March 2024 and roughly double the March 2019 level. Food banks and community organizations also served 4,522,356 meals and snacks that month.
The client profile is the part that surprises people. Children under 18 make up 33% of food bank clients in Canada. Nearly one in five clients (19.4%) reported employment as their main income source in 2025, up from 12.2% in 2019, and 70.4% live in market-rent housing.
Food banks belong on a food asset map beside kitchens, markets and processors: many run meal programs out of community or commercial kitchens, and many depend on the same cold storage and distribution capacity small food businesses use. See what is mapped near you.
