Bare shelves at Alberta food banks as demand soar: ‘Very difficult year’
In the first six month the year, Food Banks Alberta distributed almost as much food as it did in all of 2025 — and the busiest months are yet to come.
Alberta's food banks are facing a challenging year due to a surge in demand and dwindling supplies. Executive Director Darryl Burry of Food Banks Alberta revealed that the warehouses are now largely empty, a stark contrast to the usual high shelves stacked with donations. The organization typically distributes 3.36 million pounds of food to 112 member food banks, but this year, they've had to send nearly 90% of their total 2025 volume in just the first six months. The busiest months are still ahead.
This summer, Food Banks Alberta shipped out food faster than donations arrived, leaving them with a supply shortage of about 350 pallets for September. While the final 2026 HungerCount numbers won't be released until October, projections suggest even higher demand. Edmonton's Food Bank, supporting over 43,000 people monthly, is also experiencing unprecedented demand.
Communications Coordinator Haley Grinder attributes the increased need to various factors, but emphasizes that this is a particularly tough year for Albertans. With inflation and other global events affecting their buying power, Edmonton's Food Bank anticipates spending $2 million more on food purchases this year compared to last.
As the province heads into its busiest food bank season, both organizations are urgently seeking additional help from Albertans.
Written by urgent.news from Global News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
