Calgary food banks struggle with tariffs and inflation

Tariffs are taking a toll on Calgary’s community kitchens and food banks, with inflation making the situation even worse.

The Calgary Food Bank says it’s feeding more people than ever before, while donations are dropping.

“I think that’s going to catch up with us if something doesn’t change,” said Calgary Food Bank CEO Melissa From.

She says inflation and tariffs are putting massive pressure on their operations-especially with rising food costs being a major inflation driver in April.

“Obviously, demand goes up because there’s increased need in the community, and typically donations go down because the economy’s not doing so well. We’re all facing those pressures of inflation and fear of tariffs,” she said.

The Calgary Food Bank spends $10 million yearly on essential items like dairy and fresh produce-things that aren’t often donated, From says; however, U.S. tariffs are affecting the availability of these items.

“Tariffs, especially, are a huge concern for us as we look at produce that typically would come up through the US market. Now we are looking at sourcing that in other places,” From said.

The price of food in Canada continues to rise despite the annual pace of inflation cooling last month.. Statistics Canada reported this week that food bought from stores increased 3.8 per cent in price year-over-year.

Another Calgary non-profit, Brown Bagging for Calgary’s Kids (BB4CK), says they are experiencing increased food costs, with it now costing $4 per lunch.

“Last year at this time, it was about $3.50, so it has gone up to $4, which every little bit matters and makes a big difference,” said Stephanie Gauthier, executive director for BB4CK.

“We are 100 per cent community funded, so even a fifty-cent increase on a lunch has a huge impact on our budget every year.”

Both non-profit organizations say they are relying on donations from Calgarians to stay afloat in these uncertain times, and every dollar counts.

A report released by the Calgary Food Bank revealed that many Calgarians are still experiencing food insecurity, and that 65 per cent of users are employed but struggle to make ends meet.

Insufficient wages aren’t the only hurdle for working Calgarians; they also say limited and inconsistent hours, and lack of job security are impacting their ability to feed themselves and their families.

According to a late 2024 report from Food Banks Canada, there were more than two million visits in March 2024–nearly double the monthly visits five years ago in March 2019, and six per cent above 2023’s record-breaking figure.

With files from Lauryn Heintz