Allies in Affordability
According to the 2026 Food Banks Poverty Report Card, one in four people in Canada are food insecure and many of them are employed but are not making enough to pay for food. The price of the goods and services tracked by Statistics Canada in the Consumer Price Index was up by 2.8% over the 2025 Index – reflecting the struggle to afford the basics. Food Banks Canada has tracked the surge in demand over the last five years – now, food bank visits are double what they were in 2020.
The charitable sector is a reliable partner for government and business, but especially during an affordability crisis. In 2026, food banks and thousands of other charities are helping more Canadians than ever. Canadian charities are responding to the affordability crisis in three ways: free programs to hundreds and thousands of Canadians, a trusted workforce with lived experience to lead programs and services, and the collaborative hub model to make programs more accessible.
Open Arms and Free Programs
The scale and reach of free and subsidized services offered by Canadian charities is impressive. In March 2026, nearly half of the charities surveyed (46%) by Charity Insights Canada Project (CICP) provide all – or nearly all – of their services free of charge, with 73% offering at least one free program in the last year. The types of free or subsidized resources include food, transportation, childcare, youth activities, spiritual support, therapy, retraining, tax filing, events, deeply affordable rent, interest-free loans, and more. For example, a quarter of the charities (27%) provide financial aid or vouchers to their clients. These free and subsidized programs help clients make life more manageable (CICP 4.03.08).
Charities offer trusted services in local communities that partners in government and business cannot provide. A third of charities (33%) help people access and navigate the public benefit systems from governments because for clients with health issues or language barriers, applying for social services requires support. With social capital and trust from community members, charities can be interlocutors for government (CICP 4.03.08).
Canadians are using these free and subsidized services at significant rates. Half of the participating CICP charities (roughly 55%) served up to 1,000 people in the last 12 months, while 5% of organizations had the capacity to serve more than ten thousand clients, and 2% of charities impressively served more than 25,000 clients. Canadians turn to these programs and services for cost-relief and for community connection. One CICP panellist asserted that, “strengthening the charitable sector’s role in addressing affordability is essential, as these organizations provide not only immediate cost relief for families but also generate long-term public cost savings and enhance social and community stability.” In other words, programs and services from charities build social cohesion (CICP 4.03.08).
Mission-driven Workforce with Lived Experience
Charities benefit from a highly educated and mission-driven labour pool. The CICP recently released a briefing note examining this skilled workforce. The charitable workforce grasps the barriers clients face because they’ve lived them – 70% report staff with direct lived experience (CICP 1.11.45). There is no substitute for lived experience when it comes to compassionate care. For example, panellists emphasized the significance of reducing barriers – like offering transportation or childcare – for people to feel at ease when participating in charitable programs (CICP 4.03.08).
Staff with lived experience are an incredible asset for charities. Canadian charities stated that their greatest strengths include a strong relevance to community needs (67%) and their skilled, committed staff (56%) (CICP 4.02.01). Despite low job security and salaries, staff stay because of a passion for the work (78%), and an alignment with the mission and values of their organization (77%) (CICP 3.06.20). Canadian charities recognize their workforce as community experts and trusted insiders whose local knowledge and lived experience drive the organization’s impact.
Collaborative Service Hubs
With an impressive reach into every Canadian community, the charitable sector can support Canadians with the affordability crisis by making services easily available. Collaborative hubs are reducing barriers and building social cohesion. A community service hub houses multiple organizations who deliver community services such as the East Scarborough Storefront with 30 partner groups, operated by MakeWay. In 2024, 79% of charities surveyed by the CICP agreed that greater collaboration among charities could improve outcomes for the people they serve (CICP 2.11.44). By 2025, participating CICP charities reported investing in shared program delivery (20%), and/or shared office space (17%), and/or shared administrative services (12%) (CICP 3.06.19). Although collaboration is more difficult outside of urban areas, the desire for charities to collaborate and build social cohesion continues to grow.
Conclusion
Charities help with affordability by offering free programs, by employing compassionate staff with lived experience, and by collaborating on service delivery, when possible. But charities also have to deal with the same economic pressures as the rest of us, such as inflation and the rising price of gas. For example, more than half of participating CICP charities reported that the cost of their materials and services have increased (43% increased, 12% major increase). Simultaneously, a large percentage of these organizations have also experienced an increase (39%) or major increase (16%) in the demand for their services (CICP 4.04.11). Increased demand, like that documented by Food Banks Canada, indicates the critical role that charities play in the economy. During an affordability crisis, charities across the country are doing the heavy lifting to help Canadians.
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