A new report claims that over one-in-five families experienced food insecurity in Alberta in 2022. (Photo: Shawngoldberg | Dreamstime.com)

By David Opinko

One in five Albertan families experienced food insecurity in 2022

Nov 14, 2023 | 11:10 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – A new report from Statistics Canada is highlighting the depth to which Canadians struggled to put food on the table.

The agency has released data from its Canadian Income Survey, which claims that 18 per cent of families across the country experienced food insecurity in 2022, rising by two per cent from the year before.

The Government of Canada defines food insecurity as the inability to acquire or consume an adequate diet quality of a sufficient quantity of food.

Approximately 21.7 of families in Alberta met this definition, the third-highest percentage behind Newfoundland and Labrador (22.6 per cent) and New Brunswick (21.8 per cent).

Among Albertans who are below the poverty line, just over one-third (36.2 per cent) had experienced food insecurity, while the same can be said about one-fifth (19.6 per cent) of families above the poverty line.

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Nationally, single mothers were the most vulnerable to food security, impacting nearly half (48 per cent) who are below the poverty line and 40 per cent of those above the poverty line.

Indigenous peoples (34.2 per cent), as well as Black (37.6 per cent) and Filipino (27.5 per cent) Canadians were also disproportionately effected.

The findings of this survey go hand-in-hand with a report from Food Banks Canada in October 2023, which found that the number of visits to food banks across the country had risen by 32 per cent over the last year.

More details from the Canadian Income Survey can be found on the Statistics Canada website.

A new report highlights the levels of food insecurity in Canada in 2022. (Photo: Statistics Canada)

A new report highlights the levels of food insecurity in Canada in 2022. (Photo: Statistics Canada)

A new report highlights the levels of food insecurity in Canada in 2022. (Photo: Statistics Canada)

READ MORE: Food bank visits double in Lethbridge, hit record highs nationally

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