A new report from Food Banks Canada says the number of people using food banks surged to an all-time high earlier this year.

The annual report says there were nearly 1.5 million visits to food banks in March. That’s a 15 per cent jump from the number of visits last year and 35 per cent higher than visits in March 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.

The report looked at data from more than 4,750 food banks and community organizations and also said 500,000 food bank clients – or around one-third – are children.

Food Banks Canada blames high inflation and low social assistance rates. It recommends long-term and short-term solutions such as creating a universal minimum income and providing more affordable housing.