Record numbers relying on food banks under Conservatives

Shocking new numbers on Food Bank use shows the real price Canadians are paying for Conservative economic mismanagement and their failure to act on issues like childcare and affordable housing.

NDP Employment and Social Development critic Jinny Sims (Newton – North Delta) says today’s Food Banks Canada report reveals an appalling increase – and record numbers of Canadians relying on food banks.

“Under the Conservatives, a growing number of families don't have enough to eat, and are turning to food banks in record numbers,” said Sims. “The Conservatives have failed to create good jobs, they’ve failed to invest in affordable housing, and they’ve failed to prioritize affordable child care. Canadians are being squeezed from all sides, and this is the result.”

Food Banks Canada’s latest report shows that in March 2014 nearly 850,000 Canadians used a food bank, a 25 per cent increase from 2008. More disturbingly 37 per cent of food bank users are children.

The report also calls for investment in childcare that would assist the most vulnerable families, as the NDP has proposed with Tom Mulcair’s affordable childcare plan.