Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs (SACPA)

Low income is at the root of more than three decades of food bank use in Canada. Though the circumstances that send someone through the doors of a food bank are diverse – the loss of a job, family breakup, sudden health problems, barriers related to race, disability, or mental illness, among others – it is the widespread lack of income to cushion hard times that is the key factor making Canadian food banks so necessary, particularly for low income families with children. Since the 1990s, federal and provincial governments have focused more and more on economic growth, getting more people working, and increasing “workforce flexibility” – in other words, the ability of employers to hire and fire, the ability of workers to perform the jobs that are available, and the likelihood that workers will go where the jobs are. Policy decisions related to this priority have included a decrease in support for people who are unable to work or find a job. For example, it is now more difficult to qualify for Employment Insur