Food Banks Alberta faces critical shortage while facing higher demand than 2025

Advertisement 1 This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Breadcrumb Trail Links HomeNewsLocal News Food Banks Alberta faces critical shortage while facing higher demand than 2025 'Because numbers have increased so much, and donations typically have not kept pace, now food banks are having to figure out how they can keep their operations alive' Author of the article: By Ramin Ostad Published Aug 31, 2026 Last updated 3 hours ago 2 minute read Join the conversation Edmonton Food Bank volunteers sort donations in the food bank's warehouse, Friday August. 1, 2025. Photo by David Bloom PHOTO BY DAVID BLOOM /Postmedia Article content Food Banks Alberta says it’s facing a critical shortage of food and cash donations, after seeing demand spike in 2025. Article content The association of food banks in Alberta, which supplies food to 112 member food banks across the province, says the warehouse is struggling to meet increased demand, with supplies being sent out much faster than they can be replaced. Article content Article content According to Darryl Burry, executive director of Food Banks Alberta, the warehouse has already distributed over two million pounds of food, or roughly 60 per cent of the 3.36 million pounds distributed in the entirety of 2025. In August, the volume sent out to member locations ran 32.8 per cent higher than in August 2025. Article content Article content “In 2025 there were over 2,000 monthly food bank visits here in Alberta alone,” Burry said. “So that represents a significant portion of the Alberta population that on a monthly basis is having to access that food bank.” Article content Headline News Get the latest headlines, breaking news and columns. Sign Up By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Article content The province saw 210,541 average monthly food bank visits in 2025, a 21.8 per cent jump over the previous year, according to Food Banks Canada’s 2025 Hunger Count. Of those visits, 75,968 were for children. While the 2026 Hunger Count numbers will be released in October, Burry expects to see another big jump in requests for support from food banks in Alberta. Article content “Because numbers have increased so much, and donations typically have not kept pace, now food banks are having to figure out how they can keep their operations alive.” Article content Burry says their member food…