CANADA: QUICK FACTS

• People using a food bank in Canada in one month:  823,856
• Nationally, slight decline of 0.1% in food bank use, but not in Manitoba, which continues to have the second highest rate of food bank reliance (Newfoundland is first.)
• Saskatchewan and Manitoba have the highest percentage of child food bank clients in Canada at 46.4%.
  

MANITOBA: QUICK FACTS

• Across Manitoba the number of people requiring emergency food is 46,161 per month, an increase of 8.9 % since last year.  Provincially, the number of hungry children has risen 8% to 21,245 per month.
• Manitoba’s largest food bank, Winnipeg Harvest encompasses the vast majority of food bank clients. Winnipeg Harvest served 39,265 individuals in March of 2005, up from 36,781 last year.  That is a 6.5 % increase.
• Winnipeg Harvest is seeing more hungry children than ever before.  Winnipeg Harvest now provides emergency food to 18,148 children each month, up from 17,256 per month last year.  That is a 5.2% increase.
• Winnipeg Harvest supplies meal and snack food to 29 schools and 32 day cares because staff reported children arriving hungry.  Another 8 schools and 3 day cares are on our waiting list for emergency food.
• Overall food bank reliance in Manitoba has increased 18.3% in the last five years (since 2000).
• Put another way, 3.94% of Manitoba’s entire population relies on emergency food (second only to Newfoundland).

 
WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN

Winnipeg Harvest believes solutions towards eliminating hunger in our community have been well researched and documented by community-based organizations, academics, government departments and people affected by and living in poverty.

Winnipeg Harvest is today calling on Manitoba’s Family Services Minister, Christine Melnick, to spearhead a detailed action plan on hunger including a time frame, measurable outcomes and indicators of success.

released November 23, 2005