Every month, food banks in British Columbia serve more than 125,000 meals to people in need — a number that is growing, according to Food Banks Canada, raising concerns for one researcher over the growing reliance on food banks in the province.
The organization, which supports food and meal providers across the country, released a report in October that found the demand for food banks in the province increased by 25 per cent between 2021 and 2022, compared to the national average of 15 per cent.
The increase is attributed to a number of factors, including the rising cost of living in the province and the number of people displaced by climate disasters such as floods and forest fires.
The findings reflect how food banks — meant to be a temporary solution to food insecurity more than 40 years ago — are more critical than ever, but Tammara Soma, an assistant professor at Simon Fraser University who …