Food banks across Canada are begging to be put out of business

Josh Smee imagines a future in which food banks no longer exist in Canada, because people don’t need them.

“Food banks as an organization are about as old as I am,” Smee, the CEO of the Newfoundland and Labrador charity Food First NL, told As It Happens host Nil Köksal.

“It feels like we’ve had this model forever, but we haven’t. It doesn’t have to be here.”

Food First NL is one of several food charities across Canada who have signed onto a campaign called “Put Food Banks Out of Business.”

Launched by the Toronto Vegetarian Food Bank, it calls on Canadians donating to food banks this holiday season to also reach out to their local members of Parliament to advocate for the implementation of  basic income to keep people above the poverty line.

“I think one of the most important gifts we can give alongside cash is the gift of our voice,” Smee said. 

They’re making the call on Giving Tuesday, when charities around the world campaign for donations ahead of the holidays, sometimes with matching funds from companies. 

Running out of food

Across the country, the demand for food banks is surging. 

A report by Food Banks Canada this year found there were more than two million visits to Canadian food banks in March 2024 alone — six per cent more than the year before, and 90 per cent more than in 2019.

Of the 12,000 new people who are using food banks monthly, more than 50 per cent are employed full-time, while more than 60 per cent have a post-secondary education and are working.

As working Canadians turn to food banks month after month, the report says the charities don’t have the resources to keep up. More than 30 per cent of food banks reported running out of food.

That’s partly because food banks were never meant to shoulder this weight, says Marjorie Bencz, executive director of Edmonton’s Food Bank — the first one to set up shop in Canada.

Edmonton’s Food Bank, she says, first opened its doors in the 1980s as a temporary measure to help people get through an economic downturn. 

Decades later, it’s still open and busier than ever. What’s more, she says the conditions that led to its creation — low incomes and a lack of affordable housing — have not improved.

“I think that the gravity of the situation is not understood by decision makers or maybe even broader community members, because what’s happening on the front line is food banks are just scrambling for resources,” she said. “This is not sustainable for any of us.”

That’s why the Toronto Vegetarian Food Bank created this campaign, says Matt Noble, the organization’s executive director.

“In a country like Canada, food insecurity should not be the responsibility of the charitable sector and the goodwill of donors,” they said. 

“Optically, it’s almost like we give the government a break by being here and looking like we’re taking care of it. We kind of take pressure off the government to actually solve the problem.”

But the government isn’t listening to the people on the front lines of the food crisis, says Meghan Nicholls, chief executive officer of Food Banks Mississauga.

“I have never been so angry,” she said. “We keep shouting to elected officials. I meet with them face-to-face and tell them what’s needed, tell them what’s happening in the community. And I get a pat on the back and a ‘Thanks for all your work.”‘

Donations still needed

Despite the campaign to put food banks out of business, Smee says these charities still need Canadians’ generosity more than ever.

But he’s calling on donors to also speak to their lawmakers about basic income, or make a note to bring it up the next time a candidate comes knocking. 

“Our organization has done a lot of work talking to people who are experiencing food insecurity, and what they’ve said loud and clear to us is that they’re looking for policy change, not better emergency aid,” Smee said. “I think we need to respect that desire.”

Asked if a Canada without food banks is possible, even with basic income, Smee says it’s possible food banks would stay open to help people through “those briefest of emergencies.”

“But right now, we’re using food banks to get you through the month, to get you through the year and to get you through the decade,” he said. “That’s just not what they were ever designed for.”

Still, he’d rather dream big. 

“I think we need to be ambitious here and imagine a time when they don’t exist.”