A new report from the Calgary Food Bank shows a big jump in the number of working Calgarians who are using the food bank.

Between Sept. 1, 2023 and Aug. 31, 2024, the Calgary Food Bank said it handed out 173,354 emergency food hampers — including 57,878 to clients who came from households with employment wages listed as a primary source of income, a 27 per cent increase from the year earlier.

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While unemployment or people looking for work is still the primary reason (21 per cent) that people use the food bank, it also shows that 37 per cent of food bank users now have some kind of employment income, with 27 per cent of clients working full-time.

“It’s really heartbreaking,” said Dr. Lucy Harry, head of research at the Calgary Food Bank. “You know, traditionally work is an antidote to issues such as food insecurity, but people told us also about how it’s very much tied up with the cost of living and particularly their rent … people we interviewed talked about how their rent takes up the majority of their income, and so clients are utilizing the Calgary Food Bank so they can save money on food and then put that towards their rent.”

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“I also interviewed some seniors who were telling me about how, particularly with the increased cost of living, they said that they anticipate that they’ll be working until the day that they die — so I found those human interactions were really heartbreaking,” said Harry.

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The report said the primary reasons working Calgarians are turning to the food bank are:

• Insufficient wages (an average of $19.30/hr)
• Limited and inconsistent hours
• Lack of job security
• Belonging to an at-risk demographic
• Working in unstable or volatile job industries

The most common occupations among food bank clients are sales and service jobs (29 per cent) such as cleaning, retail and food service, or in the trades, transport and construction industries (29 per cent), where they work in positions such as equipment operators, delivery or in warehouse jobs.

The report also reveals some other demographic trends among working Calgarians who experience “severe food insecurity,” which the food bank defines as “people who are skipping meals or going days without food.”

The report said:

• 73 per cent of them are from female-led, single-parent households
• 81 per cent are living with a disability
• 77 per cent of them are Indigenous

According to the food bank, the research shows many Indigenous communities are still dealing with the effects of colonization, including issues such as the unavailability of traditional foods and a decline in traditional food-sharing practices.

The report also said that 62 per cent of food bank clients who aren’t Canadian citizens have a university degree or diploma, compared to 38 per cent of food bank users who are Canadian citizens and have a degree or diploma.

“I think that’s one of the things we really want folks to take away from this study, is that there may be some perceptions of who typically comes to the food bank,” said Melissa From, CEO of the Calgary Food Bank. “People may think it’s just folks who are on fixed incomes or social security and social services payments and folks may think it’s just the unemployed — and really, you as a Calgarian might be surprised that your friend and neighbour is using the Calgary Food Bank today.”

The report was developed through in-depth interviews with 30 working food bank clients and surveys with 1,500 more.

1:51 Calgary Food Bank sees record demand, tripling since 2019