The HungerCount 2025 report, released by Food Banks Canada Monday, shows a 48.6 per cent increase in food bank visits between 2019-2025 in Saskatchewan. One-in-five people using the food bank are employed and nearly three quarters are in the rental market.
“So many people are coming forward every day to tell us they’re being forced to choose between paying rent and putting food on the table, between buying gas for their cars or buying clothes for their kids — this isn’t right,” said Saskatchewan NDP Leader Carla Beck.
“After 18 years of Sask. Party failures the cost-of-living crisis here is worse than ever — financial anxiety is greater here than anywhere else.”
Perhaps the most heartbreaking statistic in the HungerCount 2025 report for Saskatchewan is that 37.8 per cent of people using the food bank are children, a higher percentage than anywhere else in Canada.
“These kids are our future and they deserve a government that supports them and their parents,” Beck said. “There are things this government could do today if they truly cared.
“They could cut the Sask. Party tax on groceries — that would save families $25 million annually.
"They could cut the Sask. Party tax on children’s clothing — that would save families another $20 million.
“They could commit to passing our legislation bringing much-needed rent control to Saskatchewan.”
In all, there were 55,310 total food bank visits recorded in Saskatchewan between March 2024 and March 2025
Social Services Shadow Minister Brent Blakley said the increase in food bank usage is a reflection of a government that hasn’t cared about making life affordable for so long.
“The Sask. Party has spent 18 years pandering to their friends and insiders and ignoring the very real concerns of everyday Saskatchewan people,” he said. “We have seen repeated cuts to social supports and taxes being piled onto household budgets already stretched to the limit.
“It’s time for change, for a government that’s focused on a future where every person can put a roof over their head and food on the kitchen table.”
Earlier this week, Saskatchewan NDP Housing Minister April ChiefCalf was joined at the Legislature by seniors joining her push for rent control.
“These people came to the Legislature and demanded the government listen to their very real concerns about the cost of living and take action to help,” she said. “This Government should act today to make life more affordable. Turning to a food bank should be a last resort, not an everyday reality for Saskatchewan families.”