Canadian food banks recorded about 1.5 million visits last March, an increase of 15% over the number of visits in the same month last year and 35% over the number in the same month of 2019, which was the last March Canada experienced before the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic in the first quarter of 2020, according to the annual report released today by ''Banques alimentaires Canada / Food Banks Canada'', a charity. The association also based its report on data from more than 4,750 food banks and community organizations. The CEO of ''Canadian Food Banks'', Christine Birdsall, described the report as ''shocking'', pointing out that the number of food bank users ''has never been this high in Canadian history''. Also, Birdsall pointed to a set of factors, including the sharp rise in food prices, the high inflation rate, and low social assistance benefits. This is without mentioning seniors with fixed incomes who can no longer cope with price inflation, according to her. Also, Birdsall mentioned employees who earn minimum wage, including students, whose ''wages do not keep up with inflation''. The report mentioned that about half a million people benefiting from Canadian food banks, or one-third of the total number, are children, while children make up only about 20% of Canada's population. ''They are the future of our country,'' Birdsall said, ''When a child goes to school hungry, they cannot focus and learn.'' In the same context, ''Food Banks Canada'' highlighted that the problem of food insecurity is particularly severe in the northern regions of Canada. These areas are vast and sparsely populated, with Indigenous peoples constituting a high proportion of their residents. Additionally, the association recommended in its report adopting a guaranteed minimum income, providing more affordable housing, reforming the unemployment benefits program and the Canadian Workers Benefit (ACT / CWB) program, which are two federal programs.