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Explore our interactive map to discover Community Food Centres and Good Food Organizations across Canada. Learn more about each location and find out how to get involved in the movement for the right to food.
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As a non-Indigenous organization, Right To Food recognizes our unique role in supporting a wide range of Indigenous-serving programs. We are committed to meeting organizations where they are at, offering diverse program options to foster reconciliation and resurgence.
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Poverty Action Unit campaigner speaking at the 2024 Food Summit
Right To Food’s policy and advocacy work
Food insecurity begins long before the kitchen
Food insecurity doesn’t start with an empty fridge. It starts with a paycheque that doesn’t stretch far enough. With benefits that fall short. With food systems disrupted by centuries of colonialism. With rent that keeps rising. And with grocery bills that gut household budgets. In Canada, food insecurity isn’t just about food. It’s about policy. It’s about who our systems serve and who they leave behind.
That’s where the Poverty Action Unit (PAU) comes in. As Right To Food’s policy and advocacy arm, PAU works to end poverty and food insecurity by pairing bold policy solutions with grassroots movement-building. With a diverse network of partners, we tackle the root causes of hunger and push to make food insecurity politically impossible to ignore.
Because at Right To Food, we know that food insecurity is a symptom of deeper injustice. Real solutions begin not with charity, but with systemic change: livable incomes, Indigenous food sovereignty, and dignity for all. Only then can we build a Canada where everyone has the right to food.
Food insecurity by the numbers
We've compiled key stats about poverty and food insecurity in all federal ridings across Canada.
Get up-to-date, fully referenced statistics on food insecurity and poverty in every province and territory.
Read our latest research and reports
In 2025, nearly 10 million people across Canada struggled to afford enough food.
At Right To Food, the Poverty Action Unit leads national advocacy to tackle the root causes of food insecurity.
Building change together
Every year, thousands of people in Canada miss out on tax benefits that can significantly increase their income.
Imagine a country where everyone has access to the food that they need. You can help us build that future.
A national crisis with deep roots
Currently, over one in four people in Canada—nearly 10 million people, including 2.4 million children—cannot afford to put adequate food on the table.
Food insecurity isn’t a private issue. It’s a public health crisis. It increases chronic disease and preventable hospital visits. It places pressure on our healthcare system and drags on the economy.
It also erodes public trust and weakens democracy. When millions are left behind, the consequences ripple far beyond the dinner table.
This crisis isn’t caused by inflation alone. It’s the result of an economy that doesn’t adequately share its wealth, a lagging social safety net, and policies disrupting Indigenous food systems.
Why are people going hungry?
Food insecurity doesn’t happen by accident. It’s driven by policies and systems that fail to meet people’s basic needs, especially those already pushed to the margins.
Some of the root causes:
- Low wages and precarious work driving a rise in working poverty
- Gaps in income supports and underfunded public services
- Soaring costs of housing, groceries, and other necessities
- Deepening wealth and income inequality, and a lack of redistributive policies
- The ongoing impacts of colonialism, including the disruption of Indigenous food systems and connection to the land.
We don’t see these as isolated problems. We see them as interconnected injustices. And we want a future where everyone can live—and eat—with dignity.
Food insecurity is soaring—and the impact is uneven
Food insecurity impacts some communities more heavily. These communities include: Indigenous, Black, and other racialized peoples; single parents; people with disabilities; immigrants; 2SLGBTQIA+ people; and single people aged 18 to 64.
According to Statistics Canada, food insecurity is experienced by:
- 41.3% of Black people
- 34.7% of Indigenous people living off-reserve
- 47.4% of women-led single-parent families
- 30.2% of newcomers who arrived in Canada within the last 5 years.
Nearly thirty-one per cent of children across the country also experience food insecurity.
Unfortunately, we don’t have reliable national-level data on the level of food insecurity experienced by Indigenous people living on reserves and 2SLGBTQIA+ people, as Statistics Canada doesn’t collect this information. Based on what we do know from local data, we strongly suspect rates are significantly higher than the national average.
It’s important to note these inequities don’t happen on their own. They come from structures built on systemic discrimination and colonialism that shape who has access to resources and power. Check out this post for more demographic and regional information.
