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A survey of women’s shelters and transition houses in Canada has found 96 per cent of respondents say their communities face a food security crisis.
The report was released Tuesday by Women’s Shelters Canada, a network of organizations that support women, children and gender-diverse people affected by violence.
It examined the link between gender-based violence and food insecurity — the inadequate or insecure access to food due to financial constraints — and how the affordability crisis has affected shelters and those using them.
Three-quarters of shelters surveyed said it has become harder in the past year to help people access enough food.
“Workers are having to do more fundraising, they’re having to build new partnerships and anything else that just makes sure there’s a flow of food coming into the shelters, and that’s taking a lot more time of staff as well as having impact on the survivors that are coming into the spaces,” said Robyn Hoogendam, the network’s senior research and policy manager, and author of “Shelter Voices 2026: Escaping Violence, Facing Hunger.”
“Shelters are saying that survivors are coming in hungry and they’re really worried about how they’re going to provide for their families when they leave [the] shelter as well.”
Robyn Hoogendam, senior research and policy manager for Women’s Shelters Canada, is and author of ‘Shelter Voices 2026: Escaping Violence, Facing Hunger,’ released Tuesday. (Submitted by Kaitlin Geiger-Bardswich)
The eight-page report includes the results of surveys distributed to more than 620 individual shelters between Sept. 1, 2025, and Aug. 31, 2026.
The impact of inflation on shelters
The survey was released after Food Banks Canada’s annual food insecurity survey indicated there were more than 2.3 million visits to food banks in March, an 8.7 per cent increase from the previous year.
Food Banks Canada, a non-profit, says the cost-of-living crisis and economic pressures are weighing heavily on nearly 10 million Canadians experiencing food insecurity.
According to Hoogendam, in addition to shelter users, people who work at them are also struggling to keep up with inflation.
“A lot [of shelters] do allow staff to eat the meals alongside or eat snacks alongside survivors,” she said. “That’s a really critical piece around food security for workers as well but it also creates a great opportunity for connecting across the staff and survivors.”
Hoogendam said she’s glad the federal government is conducting a study on food price inflation and has invested in a national school food program.
However, she also wants to see more funding to help shelters keep up with rising costs.
“Shelters are continually being asked to meet today’s needs but with yesterday’s resources and that’s a huge challenge,” said Hoogendam. “We also need to see food as just one piece of a much larger affordability crisis.”
People kept ‘in a state of exhaustion’
Food costs more in northern communities because it travels longer distances to get to them, Hoogendam said, forcing shelters to come up with creative solutions.
“One of the things that one of our northern shelters specifically told us is that they’re working more with hunters to supplement meat,” she said. “We also heard about organizations that are partnering with gardeners or other local producers to access fresh produce.”
Katie Bortolin is executive director of the Northwestern Ontario Women’s Centre based in Thunder Bay. The centre’s Good Food Box program provides low-cost fresh fruit and vegetables each month. (Sarah Law/CBC)
In Thunder Bay, Ont., the Northwestern Ontario Women’s Centre’s Good Food Box program provides low-cost fresh fruit and vegetables each month.
When the program started in 2005, “we were packing 52 boxes a month,” said the centre’s executive director, Katie Bortolin. “Now over 20 years later, we’re packing over 700 boxes a month.”
About 22 per cent of households in the Thunder Bay district face food insecurity, according to the Thunder Bay District Health Unit (TBDHU).
The Good Food Box program at Northwestern Ontario Women’s Centre was first launched in 2005. (Marc Doucette/CBC)
The city declared intimate partner violence as an epidemic in 2023.
“If we can’t feed each other well, then we’re keeping people in a state of exhaustion and it’s really challenging to leave a relationship or leave a home that’s not safe for you,” Bortolin said.
It’s important to understand the link between gender-based violence, food insecurity and housing challenges, said Bortolin.
“We know that the wait list for social housing can be exhausting and a really long and labouring process, so being able to take some of the weight off and take some of the stress off women so they’re able to focus on rebuilding their lives free of violence is an incredibly important aspect in their healing.”
For more information about the nearest women’s shelters, click here. Anyone in immediate danger is urged to call 911.
