Kimothy Stewart lives in Fredericton and works as a marketing coordinator for Parks New Brunswick. She’s a proud mother of two, and in her spare time, she serves on the board of Greener Village, a major local food bank and community-service organization. She’s also a former client of the same food bank. “It has taken me the better part of a decade to be able to say that out loud,” she says, knowing it’s an experience shared by many other people in Canada and wanting to help dismantle the stigma that can accompany it. 

Years back, Stewart suddenly found herself a single parent with an unfinished university degree. She took on two relatively low-wage jobs: one full-time and one part-time. But even with all that work, it was still proving very challenging to provide food, housing, heating, transportation and other essentials for herself and her young kids. ​

She decided, reluctantly, to reach out to the local food bank. “It wasn’t easy,” she says. “It certainly isn’t a decision I or anyone made lightly.” She remembers feeling like a failure. However, the staff and volunteers were warm and welcoming, and over time, she realized that nobody there was judging her — and that she wasn’t judging herself fairly, either. “Clients of the food bank should be commended for having the courage to take the difficult step of asking for help,” she asserts.
 
After taking that step herself, Stewart led a modest but happy family life. She has especially fond memories of pizza dinners made possible by a partnership between the food bank and a local pizzeria. “For one night a month, my children got to have a pizza night just like their friends,” she says. “It was a simple thing that meant so much to us.”

During this period, Stewart was able to go back to school and earn diplomas. She now owns a home, travels with her family and enjoys financial stability. “Most importantly, I’m now able to give back,” she adds. 

Stewart’s experience illustrates how — by taking care of fundamental needs — food banks give people the energy, time and bandwidth to build their lives. Food banks have been serving this purpose for decades and continually strive to improve and build their capacity. However, in recent years, soaring levels of food insecurity in Canada have been threatening their ability to offer support to everyone who reaches out to them. 

Turning Canada’s HungerCount Around  

Food Banks Canada has been documenting this surge in need in its annual HungerCount report, a census-type survey of most of the country’s food bank agencies, organizations and programs. Our newly released HungerCount 2025 indicates that the number of visits they collectively receive has doubled since 2019, hitting close to 2.2 million visits in March 2025 alone. 

The report also shows that one in five food bank clients is employed but still can’t make ends meet, a proportion that is growing in large part due to wages that haven’t kept up with inflation. For the same reason, roughly one quarter of households that rely on food banks are now two-parent families. And around a third of clients are children. 

Food banks’ staffers, volunteers and supporters want each of these millions of people to have the same relief and opportunity to pursue their potential that benefited Stewart’s family and many others. But food banks can’t do it alone: without bold legislative action to change the overall environment, they struggle to keep pace. 

“Canada’s HungerCount is growing relentlessly in the wrong direction,” warns Food Banks Canada CEO Kirstin Beardsley, who is calling for focused poverty-reduction strategies and urgent government policy measures to support low-income workers, food-insecure children, affordable housing and adequate social benefits. 

“We can make new choices,” Beardsley continues. “We can turn Canada’s HungerCount around. It starts by feeding greatness and valuing human potential.” 

Stewart agrees. “People are really trying and just need a leg up,” she says. “We can give them a reason to keep trying. We can be part of the reason why they will thrive.” 

See our latest HungerCount report’s overall findings and our policy recommendations for cutting food insecurity in Canada in half by 2030.