Working a full-time job 'not enough' to escape food insecurity, Calgary Food Bank survey finds
37 per cent of survey respondents relied on employment for income but still accessed food bank services
New data from the Calgary Food Bank shows plenty of Calgarians working full-time need help filling the fridge.
A report published Thursday said 37 per cent of the 1,525 food bank clients who answered a survey relied on employment as their main source of income. The survey also found 27 per cent of respondents rely on full-time employment income.
The figures show there is no typical food bank client, said Calgary Food Bank president and CEO Melissa From.
"You as a Calgarian might just be surprised that your friend and neighbour is using the Calgary Food Bank today," she said.
Of the food bank clients that indicated they received employment income, 65 per cent said they were experiencing "severe food insecurity" — defined by Statistics Canada as skipping meals, reducing food intake and in extreme cases going days without food.
"Fundamentally, they're doing everything right," said From. "They're working, they're employed, they're contributing members of society, they're paying their mortgage, they're paying their energy bills and their car payments, and at the end of the month, there's just not enough left."
Low pay, unreliable hours among key factors
The study found insufficient wages, limited and inconsistent hours, and a lack of job security were all causing food insecurity among employed Calgarians.
"What was most astounding was that it's everyday Calgarians who are affected by food insecurity," said Lucy Harry, the food bank's head of research. "The stories were heartbreaking."
The report described how some clients were working for low pay, no benefits, or struggling to find work because of a language barrier.
Among employed survey respondents, "severe food insecurity" was most common in clients working while living with a disability, Indigenous workers and employed female-led single households.
The survey also found that 87 per cent of respondents with full-time jobs make less than Calgary's living wage, calculated by Vibrant Communities Calgary at $24.45 an hour.
'Prepare for the worst, but hope for the best'
According to From, both local and global economic factors are contributing to food insecurity.
"We are a very rapidly growing city, and in addition to that, obviously we have some economic challenges," she said.
"For us at the food bank, we're just going to go with the motto of 'be prepared for the worst, but hope for the best.'"
The food bank serves 750 households a day with its hamper program, according to its latest annual report.
The charity has enlisted the help of over 200 volunteers to meet that demand, while also working toward the opening of a new location in downtown Calgary with the goal of serving another 200 households.
With so many Calgarians facing food insecurity, more investment and solutions are needed across the board, according to From.
"We can be the temporary [solution], we can feed people and get food out the door," she said. "But levels of government, other community agencies, private sector, public sector, all need to come together to talk about solutions for a problem this big and complex."
The study was created using information gathered from 30 in-depth interviews with employed food bank clients. Research results were compiled through an anonymous online survey sent to food bank clients in 2024, with a confidence interval of 95 per cent and five per cent margin of error.
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With files from Terri Trembath