New Brunswick Food Bank Says Up to 50 Military Families Using Its Services

A Canadian flag is seen on a Canadian Armed Forces member’s uniform in a file photo. The Canadian Press/Lars Hagberg

A New Brunswick food bank says that dozens of military families are using its services amid an affordability crunch.

The issue was initially raised by Tory MP Michelle Ferreri on March 15 in a video posted on the social media platform X, in which she spoke to Jane Buckley, who oversees the Oromocto food bank in New Brunswick.

Ms. Buckley said that her food bank helps 450 families every month, with 40 to 50 being military families. Oromocto is near Canada’s largest military base of Gagetown.

Ms. Ferreri, who serves as her party’s critic on the families, children and social development file, said in the video she was “floored” when she heard about this.

Ms. Buckley later confirmed to The Epoch Times that as far as she is aware, all of the families are active duty military, rather than veterans.

“I’ve been here for 13 years and that number has gone up and up,” Ms. Buckley said, adding that the number has increased the most during the pandemic and has maintained the same level ever since.

Ms. Buckley also claimed that military families pay for their own heat costs, which, along with food costs, have been impacted by the federal government’s carbon tax.

Ms. Ferreri addressed the issue in the House of Commons on March 18 and asked if the Liberals would “axe the tax” to help alleviate cost of living issues.

Minister of National Defence Bill Blair responded by saying his government gave the troops a “very significant raise” last year and accused the Tories of “hypocrisy” for not supporting the Liberal budget.

In response to questions from The Epoch Times on military service members’ use of food banks in New Brunswick, the Department of National Defence (DND) said that members of the armed forces, like many Canadians, were “struggling with higher prices for goods and the rising cost of housing.”

Spokesperson Kened Sadiku said DND was taking the matter “very seriously,” while adding the department “can not verify the extent to which CAF members are accessing external agencies for assistance.”

The department listed several programs available to active duty members of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), including on-base housing, a spousal employment program and touted the 12.03 percent compounded salary increase introduced between 2021 and 2025.

DND also noted that active duty troops should speak to their chain of command if they are struggling financially and that resources could be available on a case-by-case basis.

Military use of food banks comes as part of a larger trend across Canada in recent years as more and more Canadians have turned to such services, largely due to increased costs of living.

According to Food Banks Canada, as many as two million people across Canada visit food banks each month, over 640,000 of whom are children.

The social services organization Second Harvest published a study in February saying that in 2024, food bank demand was expected to increase by 18 percent and that 36 percent of non-profit food programs across the country have been forced to turn people away due to the high demand, with the number climbing to 50 percent in Toronto.

The study also claimed that overall, non-profit food programs across the country required an overall $4 billion funding increase to meet the current demand.

Noé Chartier contributed to this report.