Getting enough to eat: A daily struggle for too many people and families
Despite the slowdown in inflation in 2025, food insecurity is still a major problem. As food aid requests reach record highs, community agencies are stepping up to respond to the emergency—and create sustainable solutions.
Beneath the Calm, the Storm of Price Increases Persists
This year, food costs appear stable… but make no mistake. The significant increases of the past three years have left their mark: between 2021 and 2024, the grocery bill for a family of four rose by 33%, amounting to over $3,000 more per year¹. For many households, eating healthy remains out of reach, as shown by the 517,000 monthly food assistance distributions in Greater Montreal, up 72% since 2022 (301,000)².
Behind these statistics is the daily reality of not only children, workers, seniors, and single people but also community agencies that are ramping up their efforts to meet growing demand.
🔍 What to Expect in 2026: $1,000 More for Groceries
According to projections, an average Canadian family of four could face spending nearly $1,000 more on food in 2026 compared to 2025.³
Having a job is no longer enough
A little over 40% of households requesting food aid rely on social assistance, but an increasing number of workers also have to turn to it: one in five households has employment income².
Different profiles facing the same emergency
Single-parent families, newcomers, single people, and young low-income workers are the varied types of people who knock on the doors of food assistance agencies. One striking fact: more than half of the households receiving aid in Greater Montreal (56%) are families with children, a higher proportion than in Quebec as a whole (48%)². These figures reflect real challenges, often marked by painful choices: pay the rent or feed the children? Cover transportation costs or buy fruits and vegetables?
Living with food insecurity every day
Food insecurity means skipping meals, reducing portions, and going without so your children can eat. It also means sending your children to school on an empty stomach, avoiding fresh produce because of the cost, and living with the constant dread of not having enough to eat.
Over three years, food assistance distributions in Greater Montreal have jumped 72%, from 301,288 in 2022 to 516,957 in 2025.
What are the causes?
Many factors are behind this crisis: low incomes, social isolation, physical and mental health problems, lack of food knowledge, limited access to affordable grocery stores, as well as high housing costs that eat into food budgets.
Concrete, community-led solutions
As food insecurity gains ground, community agencies continue to offer support and concrete solutions on the front line. Thanks to help from Centraide, they can tailor their innovative initiatives to neighbourhood realities.
These actions include:
- Community gardens and urban greenhouses, which help people access fresh food and create spaces for them to socialize.
- Collective kitchens, where people can come together to learn to cook healthy and affordable meals.
- Community thrift stores, which serve as distribution points for low-cost or free food for people in vulnerable situations.
- Mobile neighbourhood markets, which provide fresh fruit and vegetables directly to communities.
- Front-line services to provide comprehensive food aid and social support.
- Local systems that encourage people eat food that is locally produced and distributed.
By acting on both emergency aid and long-term alternatives, these projects create a more solid foundation for a fairer, more equitable food future.
Some initiatives like Resto Plateau go beyond food security and include sociovocational integration. Every day, this agency’s community restaurant prepares nearly 200 meals at a sliding-scale price while providing on-the-job training to people who have had trouble accessing the job market. This type of project shows how we can address both food emergencies and broader social issues at the same time.
Main takeaways
- Prices appear stable this year, but the 33% increase between 2021 and 2024 still weighs heavily: a family of four still spends over $3,000 more per year on food¹.
- 517,000 food aid provisions are made each month in Greater Montreal, up 72% since 2022 (301,000)².
- Two out of three food aid provisions in Quebec are provided in the Greater Montreal area².
- A little over 40% of households requesting food aid rely on social assistance².
- One in five households turning to food aid has employment income, a trend that is rising in the region and across Quebec².
- More than half of the households receiving aid in Greater Montreal (56%) are families with children².
Sources
1. Alima (2025). Rapport 2024-2025 sur le coût du Panier à provisions nutritif et économique de Montréal. ppne_rapportsynthese_2025_vf.pdf.
2. Food Banks of Quebec (2025). HungerCount 2025.. HungerCount 2025.pdf
3. Dalhousie University and partners (2025). Canada’s Food Price Report 2026. canada_food_price_report_2026.pdf.
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