A look at the number and type of Canadians using food banks in 2015

OTTAWA – A by the numbers look at food bank use from the Food Banks Canada HungerCount 2015 report:

852,137: unique individuals who received food from a food bank in March 2015, making more than 1.2 million visits that month.

78,693: people who accessed a food bank for the first time in March 2015.

5 per cent: Families using foodbanks who are also homeless.

67 per cent: Food bank users who live in rental housing and pay market rents.

7 per cent: Food bank users who own their home.

35.8 per cent: Food bank users who are children.

16 per cent: Food bank users who are First Nations, Metis, or Inuit.

10 per cent: Food bank users who are immigrants or refugees who arrived in Canada in the past 10 years.

4,395,601: Meals and snacks provided annually through soup kitchens, shelters, school breakfast programs and other initiatives.