Hunger-Count 2024
October 28, 2024
An Increase of Over 28,000 Food Aid Requests in 3 Years Only
Moisson Outaouais has noticed a troubling tendency, the 2024 Hunger-Count having revealed an important increase in requests to which regional organizations have responded. In only three years, the number of food aid requests have skyrocketed by 46.3% (since 2021). And, the overall Québec Food Bank network, that responded to 2.9 million food aid requests in the province in 2024, sees no signs of slowing.
The 2024 Hunger-Count reveals that most measurement indicators are flashing red:
- The number of monthly food aid requests filled by Moisson Outaouais has increased.
- Again, this year, a majority of organizations served on our territory ran out of food.
- The bank food users continue to come from all walks of life, whether they are unattached individuals, workers, elderly, parents and children.
“In the Outaouais Region, the pressure on food aid resources is ever-growing with a constant increase in requests. Since 2021, more that 28,800 requests have been treated by our 50 affiliated organizations. In 2024, close to 35.0% of beneficiaries who receive food assistance services are children, and the proportion of low-income workers has almost doubled in two years (going from 10.6% in 2022 to 20.2% in 2024). This reality forces us to resort to constructive actions in order to respond in a sustainable manner to the increasing needs of our population.” - Marie-Pier Chaput, Community Development and Philanthropy Director, Moisson Outaouais
Help That is Doing Good, but Proves Insufficient
The $30M granted by the government in the last budget has made a great difference for our network, allowing us to purchase more foodstuff and cope with the increasing demand. However, the facts are clear. Although inflation has stabilized, the pressure brought on by the cost of living is quite real, and the most vulnerable continue to suffer the impacts.
Although our network contributes to bridge the gaps in our social safety net by helping those who face food insecurity, it will become simply impossible to have a sustainable impact without the implementation of strong public policies to fight poverty. The Government Action Plan to fight poverty and social exclusion announced last summer is a step in the right direction, but more has to be done to have concrete repercussions on the most vulnerable groups.
“Our organization makes every effort to respond to the demand, particularly by working together with La Cantine pour tous, in order to distribute meals to the children, and by collaborating with various regional partners to increase the amount of food we distribute. Our efforts also include the recurrent fundraising campaigns such as Loto-Moisson and our Christmas campaign. However, these efforts remain insufficient. We will continue to do everything in our power to sustain those in need, but we must act collectively.” - Marie-Pier Chaput, Community Development and Philanthropy Director, Moisson-Outaouais
