Zero Hunger

Food insecurity is deeply intertwined with the health and economic wellbeing of families, and social development more broadly. Food-insecure families are more likely to experience harmful health and wellbeing effects. Some of these include limited mobility, chronic health conditions, poor mental and physical health, and mental distress.

Food insecurity has an importance to not only individuals, but also on families and communities. It imposes considerable costs on the health care system—not having enough food is a matter of family wellbeing and public health. As such, the Zero Hunger goal aims to end hunger, achieve food security, improve nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture.

Prevalence of food insecurity

• In 2021, 16% of households in Canada’s 10 provinces experienced some level of food insecurity in the previous 12 months, ranging from 13% in Quebec to 20% in Alberta (source).
  
  • The most recently available data from the territories show that in 2017–2018, 57% of households in Nunavut reported some level of food insecurity and almost half of these households were severely food insecure (source).
    
• In 2021, nearly one-quarter (24%) of the 5.8 million Canadians who experienced food insecurity were children under 18 (source).
  
• In 2018, one in four children and youth under 18 (23%) said they went to bed or school hungry at least sometimes because there was not enough food at home (source).

Food insecurity and vulnerable households

• In 2021, nearly four in 10 (38%) one-parent households led by women were food insecure, compared with 16% of couples with children (source).
  
• In 2021, 26% of renter households were affected by some degree of food insecurity, compared with 11% of owner households (source).
  
• In 2021, rates of food insecurity in the 10 provinces were disproportionately high among off-reserve Indigenous peoples (31%), and people who were Arab/West Asian (28%), Black (22%), East/Southeast Asian (20%), South Asian (20%), and those reporting “other/multiple” racial/cultural identities (26%), compared with 13% of people who were white/not a visible minority (source).
  
• In Fall 2021, 57% of surveyed postsecondary students reported experiencing food insecurity. Rates were much lower for those living with family (22%), and much higher for one-parent families (83%) (source).

Finances and food insecurity

• In 2021, rates of food insecurity varied widely depending on whether the household’s main source of income was social assistance (63%), COVID benefits (42%), Employment Insurance (39%), older adults’ public pensions (15%), wages, salaries, or self-employment (14%), or private retirement pensions (4%) (source).
  
• In 2017–2018, the food insecurity rate was nearly three times as high for households with before-tax incomes in the lowest decile (36%) than the national average (13%) (source).