Alberta received a D-minus rating on Food Banks Canada's 2024 Poverty Report Card, and the Red Deer Food Bank says the province needs to focus on reducing housing, utility and food costs.
“For the second year in a row, we have a report that suggests essentially no policy changes have been made to make life easier for people living in poverty in our state,” Executive Director Mitch Thompson said.
“There hasn't really been a concerted effort in recent years to bring about significant change beyond funding announcements that have only provided short-term benefits.”
A Food Banks Canada report says Alberta has not put in place investments that would adequately address the ongoing housing and home affordability crisis.
“Although Alberta is Canada's wealthiest province and has a poverty rate roughly on par with the national average (9.7 per cent), the province has made much slower progress in reducing poverty than the rest of the country,” the report states.
Thomson said people are struggling to pay utility bills, food and housing costs, but it's the cost of housing that's posing the biggest problem in Red Deer.
“The number of people moving into the area continues to grow, but we're not keeping up. Our state needs to address our housing issue. To me, that's No. 1.”
Food Banks Canada's policy recommendations to Alberta as part of the report include an expansion of temporary rental assistance benefits to all Albertans waiting for affordable housing, permanent rent control guidelines, a long-term infrastructure plan to meet the needs of a growing population, and a new Housing Acceleration Fund appropriated at least 0.5 per cent of the province's annual operating and capital budgets.
Thomson said the number of food insecure Albertans has risen to 28 per cent. Thirty-five per cent of people relying on food banks in the province are children, and in Red Deer that number is 39 per cent.
“There are a lot of kids and families out there who are struggling. They're not doing well and this trend has to change.”
He said food banks can't keep up with the increased demand.
“We are at our breaking point. Our finances have run dry. Food is coming in steadily, but it's still not enough. We are in a tougher situation than we've ever been in.”
Food Banks Canada also recommends that Alberta transform the $600 Home Buyer Assistance Payment into a comprehensive Alberta Family Benefit to support all working families earning less than $50,000 a year, increase Alberta income support to at least 2019 levels with a commitment to future increases to match more generous provincial support plans, increase the minimum wage to $17 an hour and index it to inflation going forward, and introduce the Alberta Opportunity Award for low-income Albertans transitioning into pre-apprenticeship training.
