“Initially founded as a temporary, emergency response to growing poverty and hunger in the nineteen-eighties, food banks have become an institutionalized part of Canada’s weakened social safety net.” HungerCount 2007, p.9

In the month of March 2007, 720,231 Canadians were assisted by a food bank. Of the 673 identified food banks, 32.4% have no paid staff and volunteers donated 419,557 hours - the equivalent to 5 full time jobs for each location. This is just some of the statistical information found in HungerCount 2007, the Canadian Association of Food Bank's (CAFB) 11th annual report on the levels of food bank use nationally and provincially. In addition to food bank use and capacity, the report gathered information on the demographic characteristics of those assisted by food banks, including primary income source, household composition, and (for the first time) housing type.

While the heavy lifting in addressing food insecurity throughout the country has been carried out by the non-profit and voluntary sector, CAFB and 57% of the Canadian public believe that hunger is a responsibility of the government, federally and provincially. HungerCount 2007 does provide an assessment of government policies, the effect these polices have on hunger and poverty, and offers future courses of policy action.

Canadian Association of Food Banks (CAFB) is an umbrella organization representing a national network of regional and community food banks, including provincial associations and food distribution centres. For more information on the CAFB, visit:
http://www.cafb-acba.ca/english/AboutCAFB.html

For the full HungerCount 2007 report visit:
http://www.cafb-acba.ca/english/EducationandResearch-ResearchStudies.html