Human Resources Committee on Oct. 27th, 2026

[Nick McRoberts]

I struggled to hear the interpretation, but what I can say about folks who have a fixed income or the inability to use that income to access affordable food is that we continue to see that expenditure at the lowest income levels as far above what they're taking in as a household.

What ultimately needs to happen is to look at those fixed incomes and see whether or not they're actually meeting the need and to look at benefits and make sure that they're indexed against the poverty line and against inflation. We need to be cognizant of the cost pressures. These income benefits are there to serve a purpose, and right now they're just not.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

In other words, we need to proactively increase incomes to help people make up for shortfalls and eat better.

[Nick McRoberts]

Yes, we need to continue working to increase those.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Thank you, Ms. Larouche.

We'll now move to Ms. Kramp-Neuman for five minutes.

[Shelby Kramp-Neuman, Conservative, Hastings—Lennox and Addington—Tyendinaga, ON]

Thank you, Chair.

I'd like to address my comments to Mr. McRoberts.

On the landing page of the Food Banks Canada website, in bold letters is the suggestion that households are at a breaking point—everything you've been speaking about here today. It also says that hunger holds us back. Underneath that are some of the alarming statistics that have been raised. More than one in four people in Canada now lives in an insecure household; one in five households that rely on food banks are two-parent families; and nearly 18% of people who access food banks have jobs but are still not able to make ends meet.

Reviewing the data on your website, 2,355,075 people have visited food banks this year. In one year, that was an increase of 8.7%. It's clear that food security, long thought to be a problem of those who were underemployed or under-housed, is now becoming a very real problem and something prevalent for many demographics.

Where do you see the root causes of this? To expand on what my colleague was asking earlier, is it wages, increased housing costs, food prices or food distribution, as you mentioned earlier? If you could elaborate a little bit on that, I'd appreciate it.

[Nick McRoberts]

Yes, of course.

One thing I do want to clarify is that the 2.35 million number that we're seeing is monthly food bank users, not yearly food bank users. That indicates visits, not unique individuals. I could talk about our methodology all day.

As for the root causes, obviously, the top cited reason for using food banks is low or delayed income, but what we actually see are the contributors as to why that is the case, and those are housing, transportation and food costs. Food costs have increased by about 30% since last year. The numbers are 28% and 24% respectively for housing and transportation. Seventy-two per cent of food bank clients live in rental housing.

It's a broader issue than just food costs. Folks are having to spend their income across the essentials at a rate that is just not sustainable for them to be able to live the lives they want to, and it's forcing them to make those impossible choices. It's also putting pressure on food banks. They weren't intended to meet the need that they're seeing right now. My long-term concern is their ability to continue meeting the need should this demand increase.

[Shelby Kramp-Neuman, Conservative, Hastings—Lennox and Addington—Tyendinaga, ON]

Through all of our lenses, the collective thought is that food is a basic necessity. It's not an optional expense. It's not a luxury.

Could you speak to the growing reliance on food banks and what it says about affordability and food insecurity in all of our collective communities?

[Nick McRoberts]

It's emblematic of the pressures that all of us can say we're feeling when we go to the gas station or when we go to the grocery store. That just continues to exacerbate as we go down the income quintiles. The cost pressures that we're all hearing about at a very macro level from large industry are being felt all the way through to food bank clients and food banks themselves. Fuel and transportation costs impact their ability to purchase and move food. That's why we've continued to advocate for investments within the food banking network.

More broadly, it shows that we haven't looked at the social supports and the income supports in Canada. For example, with EI, we just haven't reviewed it in this country. It was built at a different time for a different job market than what we have now. As one example, EI needs to be changed to match the current labour market we're seeing, where people are piecing together multiple part-time jobs, for example, to make ends meet.

[Shelby Kramp-Neuman, Conservative, Hastings—Lennox and Addington—Tyendinaga, ON]

Have we considered the cause and effect of the growing reliance on food banks?

[Nick McRoberts]

We've talked about what causes people to use food banks.

The impact is that 80% of food banks now have to purchase food. A significantly higher portion, from the previous year's report, is having to turn folks away because they have inadequate levels or they're feeling the cost pressures that large industry is also feeling, whether that be fuel or transportation. Refrigeration is another thing.

That's why we're advocating for infrastructure investments.

[Shelby Kramp-Neuman, Conservative, Hastings—Lennox and Addington—Tyendinaga, ON]

I have one last question.

Earlier it was mentioned that the people who used to donate to food banks are now some of the ones who are lining up. When food bank usage is rising, clearly the need for donations will be rising. This runs into the obvious issue that if Canadians are using food banks more, it means fewer Canadians are able to donate to meet that increasing demand.

How dire is the situation, from your perspective, for the food banks, as well as for the volunteers, the staff and the donors themselves?

[Nick McRoberts]

It's very dire. We've never seen a number like this. It's up 117% since 2019.

Again, the issue is not that we don't have the food. We have an issue with getting food where it needs to go. I'll go back to those infrastructure investments from the federal government, which make sure that food can access the rural, remote, coastal and indigenous areas of this country.

[Shelby Kramp-Neuman, Conservative, Hastings—Lennox and Addington—Tyendinaga, ON]

Excellent. Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Thank you, Ms. Kramp-Neuman.

Ms. Church, the floor is yours for five minutes.

[Leslie Church, Liberal, Toronto—St. Paul's, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you to all of our witnesses for being here on a very important study.

As a Canadian and as a parent, it makes me very proud that we have the national school food program. It never ceases to amaze me that this program is only a few years old and that we were the last of the countries in the G7 to have a national school food program. The fact that it's been created, negotiated with provinces and territories and made permanent in those few short years is a testament to the need. It's also just a space where we ought to be.

I'll start with Ms. Webb.

You mentioned that the partnership with the provinces in particular is working very well in this case. I'm wondering if you could expand on that a little bit. Is it your sense that the provinces are seized with this? Is there anything you're seeing in terms of innovative approaches or best practices that particular provinces are bringing to this?

[Carolyn Webb]

It is a very broad question. Every province operates differently, but I can speak to a few great practices.

In these postcards that came from Kingston, Ontario, we're seeing that federal investment, along with some more fundraising and some contributions from parents, has led them to be able to serve lunches one day a week, which isn't nearly where we want to be ultimately, but it is a huge step up. It is showing what might be possible in Ontario, because most programs really operate breakfasts and snacks here in Ontario.

We're also seeing in the Atlantic provinces significant contributions from the provinces and territories. Nova Scotia is now providing up to four dollars per day, per child, so is serving hot lunches to all its children. With that, as well as with federal money, they're able to serve breakfast and lunch.

Every story is different. In B.C., they're now able to reach 20% of students for lunch programs, but those additional 80% of kids in schools do need more support and investment.

I also wanted to touch on one reflection around food inflation and the cost. School food programs, in our minds, are low-hanging fruit. They are an opportunity—a ready-made solution to reach families, children and youth in a way that is universal, non-stigmatizing and makes sure those children and youth have access to food every day.

[Leslie Church, Liberal, Toronto—St. Paul's, ON]

Thank you so much.

You've mentioned some of the letters you've received. I'm sure the committee would love to receive some of those. Please do send those along. We'd be happy to have those in our record.

Mr. McRoberts, thank you for your report, which I think provides for us every year a very important picture of the challenge we are facing.

I want to push you a bit on this question of building capacity and of infrastructure. You know that we've also, as a government, brought forward a national food security strategy. We are investing in food terminals and local hubs, as well as in the individual infrastructure in some of the organizations that are delivering programs like this.

What are the specific things that you think we should be building to make this program scale and make it easier to deliver?

[Nick McRoberts]

We obviously welcome the national food security strategy and the investments the government wants to make under the food-link fund. Food banks will play an active role in applying to that and being a part of a broader food system. I think that narrative around the need for infrastructure is one that we see both at that national level, when you look at terminals and hubs, and in terms of the role food banks play, and then coming down to school food.

We have seen a marked difference in the number of meals that were served per month just by the $1.6 million we got through the school food infrastructure fund. I think the change in that was about 83,000 more meals with a $1.6-million investment.

Our research and our experience show that schools need to have the capacity to deliver this program. They obviously have the desire. They understand why it has to happen, but alleviating the pressure on them by putting in more cold storage—something we're hearing—at the industrial scale, more ability to transport and more interconnectedness between their local community food hubs, like food banks and the schools themselves, is critical to moving that food I've been talking about.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

You have five seconds for a short question, possibly.

[Leslie Church, Liberal, Toronto—St. Paul's, ON]

Affordable housing continues to be a major driver of increased costs. Is that correct?

[Nick McRoberts]

Yes.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Thank you, Ms. Church.

Ms. Larouche, you have two minutes and 30 seconds.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Again, thank you very much, Ms. Webb and Mr. McRoberts, for being with us for this important meeting. Thank you also to Ms. Pagé, whom I had the opportunity to ask questions during my first round.

I would like to come back to something you just mentioned, Mr. McRoberts. Earlier, I was talking about addressing income issues proactively. We know that the old age security pension for seniors aged 65 to 74 has not been increased, unlike that for seniors 75 and older. Beyond the working population, there are also seniors who are now struggling to afford housing and food. That's what I was referring to when I was talking about prevention. You're welcome to add anything, if you'd like. I just wanted to clarify that from the outset.

In one of your responses, you just mentioned the issue of employment insurance. That's another issue I'm advocating for. I have been calling for employment insurance reform to modernize it so that it better reflects the current situation of workers and those who lose their jobs. I will give you the opportunity to elaborate further, because I believe there is indeed a direct link between people's lack of income and the employment insurance reform that many are calling for. I'd like to hear your recommendations.

[Nick McRoberts]

Yes. Obviously, unemployment insurance is a system that, again, has not been reformed in nearly 40 years. It continues to reflect a labour market that was built on someone having a full-time job and then losing that job and finding a full-time job. That's not what's happening. People have precarious work situations that lead them to finding part-time work, gig employment or things like delivery driving or something similar, or they're self-employed and they find it hard to access employment insurance.

We see that 20% of food bank users are employed, but we also see only 20% of food bank users having employment as their main source of income. They're accessing provincial social assistance and accessing employment insurance. Fewer food bank users are accessing pensions.

We need to ensure, as we look at precarious employment in this country, especially in light of tariffs, that the support is there. In fact, when the government brings in supports and when they institute tariffs, one of the things they do is waive the EI reporting period. Why don't we just make that permanent if we're understanding that it's a barrier to accessing employment insurance? We need to make sure we have resilient systems if we're going to have a resilient country.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Thank you, Ms. Larouche.

We will conclude this round with Mr. Genuis and then Mr. Saini.

Mr. Genuis, you have four minutes.