Food banks across Canada are facing an increased need this Thanksgiving, with one executive warning that things could deteriorate quickly.

Amid inflation, rising food and housing costs, and unstable employment conditions, food banks in the country have seen the demand for their goods grow as organizations enter what is considered a critical time of year for fundraising for many.

Neil Hetherington, CEO of Daily Bread in Toronto, which supports over 200 food programs in the area, stated that this long weekend has been “the most challenging Thanksgiving ever.”

He added that before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the organization saw about 65,000 client visits per month. That number last month was 275,000.

He said, “There are food prices, an unstable work environment, and most importantly, a lack of decent, affordable housing.” “All these things come together and suddenly you can understand why people are turning to food banks.”

At the large food bank in Vancouver, operations manager Cynthia Polter said the demand for food witnessed by her food bank this year is “unprecedented.”

She said, “When I started, about five years ago, we were supporting between 6,000 to 7,000 people monthly, and that number has risen to between 16,000 to 17,000 currently.”

In Quebec, the demand for food assistance has remained consistent for over a year, according to Martin Munger, director of Les Banques alimentaires du Québec, a network of 32 organizations providing local food assistance programs.

Munger stated, “With food inflation, the demand continues to rise.”

The latest data from his organization, as of March 2022, showed that their network serves 671,000 people in the province on average each month, an increase of nine percent from 2021 and 33 percent from 2019.

According to data from Food Banks Canada, the percentage of seniors accessing food banks rose to 8.9 percent in 2022 from 6.8 percent in 2019, and approximately one-third of food bank users were children.

Hetherington expressed fear of seeing food bank usage reach record levels when unemployment rates in the country remain extremely low, a concern echoed by Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow.