Social Policy Trends: The Growth in Food Bank Use in Calgary

Using a food bank is one way of conserving limited income to pay the cost of housing. Increased use is a sign of the rising cost of housing relative to income and a possible future rise in homelessness.

The Calgary Food Bank is the city's foremost hunger relief organization. It is a non-government organization that relies on the generosity of individuals, corporations, and foundations to support its efforts to ensure those experiencing food insecurity have access to emergency food hampers. The food bank collects data on daily food hamper usage, data that we use here.