Winnipeg Food Council pushes for increased funding amid record food bank demand
Posted November 20, 2025 6:30 pm.
Last Updated November 20, 2025 9:55 pm.
Winnipeg’s Food Council is asking the city for stronger support as food bank usage reaches record levels across Manitoba.
“That’s parents who go days and days without eating, so their kids can eat. That is just too many people, who are making these heartbreaking choices,” said Kirstin Beardsley, CEO of Food Banks Canada.
The Winnipeg Food Council has released its recommendations for the 2026 city budget. The group is asking for a proposed budget of 42,000 dollars, a significant increase from 16,000 dollars this year.
According to a Food Council report, development of the city’s agriculture and food strategy has stalled due to a lack of funding.
CityNews reached out to the Winnipeg Food Council for comment, but we did not hear back.
“Certainly, we would encourage the City of Winnipeg to support any activities they can, that are going to help to get fresh nutritious food on the kitchen tables of people here in Winnipeg,” said Vince Barletta, president and CEO of Harvest Manitoba.
The Food Council released a Winnipeg food system snapshot report in 2022, which examined food insecurity across the city.
CityNews reported in October that food bank visits have doubled in Manitoba since 2021.
“We are seeing record demand for food banks all across the province. Sixty thousand Manitobans going to food banks somewhere in the province of Manitoba each and every month,” said Barletta. “And a growing number of them coming from children, families and people with jobs, who are having a hard time to make ends meet.”
Food Banks Canada reports that 2.2 million Canadians turn to food banks each month. Beardsley says the situation is heartbreaking.
“It is heartbreaking to think of the impossible choices that folks are having to make on a daily basis. ‘Do I pay my rent or do I buy groceries?’” said Beardsley.
While supporting local efforts to help Manitobans facing food insecurity, Beardsley says the growing number of food bank visits can only be addressed at a national level.
