Data Analysis · Food Security · Canada 2018–2024

Nearly 10 million Canadians
live in food-insecure households

A 59% surge since 2018 — driven by inflation, housing costs, and climate-disrupted supply chains. This analysis examines how the crisis has grown, which provinces bear the heaviest burden, and why food security must be central to Canada's climate adaptation planning.

Canadians affected · 2024
9.8M
food-insecure persons across all provinces and territories
↑ 59% since 2018
Peak year · 2023
10.1M
the highest on record — 1 in 4 Canadians during the cost-of-living crisis
1 in 4 Canadians
Severe food insecurity · 2024
2.7M
skipped meals or went entire days without food — doubled since 2018
↑ 100% since 2018
Children affected · 2024
2.4M
children under 18 in food-insecure households — 1 in 4 Canadian children
↑ 53% since 2018
National trend
Food insecurity by severity, Canada 2018–2024
Number of persons in food-insecure households, all ages. Data: Statistics Canada CIS Table 13-10-0835-01.
Marginal — compromises food quality or variety
Moderate — reduces quantity; skips meals
Severe — goes without food for full days
Children under 18 (all severities)
By province · 2024
Food-insecure population
Total persons affected (all severities). Darker bar = 2024; ghost = 2018 baseline.
Provincial gap
Rate vs. growth since 2018
Provinces in the upper-right face both high rates AND rapid growth. Bubble size = population affected.
Province (bubble size = people affected)
The response · food banks 2025
Food bank use has doubled since 2019
HungerCount 2025 (Food Banks Canada) — point-in-time count, March 2025.
Monthly visits · March 2025
2.2M
food bank visits recorded across Canada in a single month
↑ 99% since 2019
Child visits · March 2025
712K
33% of all food bank clients are children — up ~340K from six years ago
↑ ~92% since 2019
National School Food Program
2024
Canada's first — launched while food insecurity was already at its peak. Previously the only G7/OECD country without one.
First ever
Data sources & methodology