The aching problem of food insecurity is much larger than food bank statistics suggest and food banks are not solving the problem, says Mary Ellen Prange, chair of the Food Insecurity Workgroup. "Only about one in four households that experience food insecurity actually uses a food bank," Prange told CBC Radio's Metro Morning on Wednesday. Prange said food banks have created a secondary food system for impoverished people when what is needed are long-term solutions. "Families or individuals who may have bare cupboards and fridges — they can go to the food bank and maybe get a few days of food, but the situation of food insecurity is not erased by that. According to Carolyn Stewart, the executive Director of the Ontario Association of Food Banks, food bank use in March of 2017 was up by three per cent compared to March of 2016, when 335,944 people were served by a food bank.

Source: CBC News November 29, 2017 19:07 UTC