The latest data from Statistics Canada confirms what we already knew — food insecurity continues to get worse.
Food insecurity exists when people struggle to afford the food they need and want. There are three categories of food insecurity: marginal, moderate, and severe. Refresh your memory on the differences in our food insecurity fact sheets.
In 2024*, 25.5% of people in the ten provinces lived in a food-insecure household in the past 12 months. That’s up from 22.9% of people in 2023.
Within that 25.5%,
6.4% experienced marginal food insecurity
12.4% experienced moderate food insecurity
6.7% experienced severe food insecurity.
Check out PROOF’s blog post, “New data on household food insecurity in 2024,” for a full summary of Canadian and cross-provincial data. PROOF also includes some territorial data, which shows alarming rates of food insecurity in the north.
Food Insecurity in Newfoundland and Labrador
For 2024, Statistics Canada reports that:
30.1% of people in Newfoundland and Labrador lived in a food-insecure household (an increase from 26% in 2023).
That’s 158,000 people (24,000 more than in the previous year).
We have the third-highest rate of food insecurity among the ten provinces (behind Alberta and Saskatchewan). This is the third straight year of increases, and we’ve nearly doubled our rate of food insecurity since 2021.
The breakdown:
6.2% experienced marginal food insecurity (no change since 2023).
15.7% experienced moderate food insecurity (up from 11% in 2023).
8.3% experienced severe food insecurity (down from 8.7% in 2023).
Childhood Food Insecurity
Newfoundland and Labrador had the highest rate of childhood food insecurity in 2024 (tied with New Brunswick).
More than one-third (39.9%) of children lived in a food-insecure household (up from 30.9% in 2023)
That’s 33,000 children, 7,000 more than the previous year.
Single-parent families are much more likely to experience food insecurity
56.8% of single-parent families experienced food insecurity (up from 39.5% in 2023).
This is the highest rate of food insecurity of any household type
Other Notable Trends
18% of seniors (ages 65+) in N.L. experienced food insecurity (up from 12.2% in 2023)
More than one in three adults in N.L., aged 18 to 44 years, experienced food insecurity (36.2–38.2% depending on age bracket)
Food insecurity is racialized
Black and Indigenous people are more likely to experience food insecurity
What These Numbers Tell Us
The food insecurity crisis continues to get worse. Nearly one in three people in Newfoundland and Labrador lived in a food-insecure household in 2024.
Incomes need to rise in food-insecure households. Poverty is the root cause of food insecurity. This trend will not change until incomes increase and keep pace with the rising costs of living.
Existing Measures May Help, But Aren’t Enough
All levels of government need to reassess the existing poverty reduction measures and introduce new ones. Programs need to reach more people and be more effective.
The food insecurity crisis is affecting new people each year. A surge in moderate food insecurity drove up overall rates. This suggests that many people are compromising on the amount, type, and quality of foods they’re eating for the first time. Working-age adults are especially struggling right now.
Though small, the drop in severe food insecurity is still important to highlight. That’s roughly 1,000 people who didn’t run out of food or need to skip meals. We want to see this trend continue.
It’s Time to Reconsider Childhood Food Insecurity
Childhood food insecurity rates in N.L. rose for the fourth year. With nearly 40% of children living in a food-insecure household, something needs to change. That is especially true for single-parent families.
School meal programs may provide some relief to caregivers. The province is in the middle of rolling out a school meal program for all Pre-K to Grade 9 students. This is a huge first step, but the program should be expanded to students up to Grade 12 to address this problem more comprehensively.
That said, the school meal program isn’t a poverty reduction measure and won’t be enough on its own. More targeted income support is needed for families experiencing food insecurity.
We Need New and Better Approaches
There is no shortage of approaches at the federal and provincial levels that could have a significant impact. For example, governments could increase the minimum wage, peg social assistance to inflation, enhance existing income supports, and/or implement a basic income.
Our posts on “Policies to Advance the Right to Food This Federal Election” and “Our Thoughts on the New N.L. Poverty Reduction Plan” have more analysis and recommendations.
Income-based policies also need to work with policies around housing and affordability. Many people experiencing food insecurity are also affected by the housing crisis. We need to recognize that these issues go hand-in-hand, and so must the solutions.
Conclusions
While there were no surprises in this new data, it was profoundly disappointing. The continued rise of food insecurity in N.L. reflects what we’ve heard from community members and other organizations. It’s having a huge impact on people’s lives.
We need urgent action on food insecurity. We need to push for more from our governments because these trends are unsustainable.
Our work isn’t finished until everyone in Newfoundland and Labrador can eat with joy and dignity.
With a new federal government in place, and both provincial and municipal elections coming later this year, this is a great time to bring these numbers up with your elected representatives and the people who want to have that job.
*About the Data
Statistics Canada gathered this data through the Canadian Income Survey 2023 (CIS). Statistics Canada collected the survey data between January and July 2024 and asked participants about their experiences during the past 12 months. While the dataset has the 2023 label, it largely reflects people’s experiences in early 2024.
This data should not be compared to our previous posts about PROOF’s annual reports. PROOF’s annual reports presented estimates of food insecurity at the household level. The Statistics Canada information above reports food insecurity at the individual person level.
From here on out, our reporting will reflect the Statistics Canada data and focus on the person level.
Statistics Canada Data Tables
Statistics Canada. Table 13-10-0834-01 Food insecurity by economic family type
Statistics Canada. Table 13-10-0835-01 Food insecurity by selected demographic characteristics
Posted: May 9, 2025
