EDMONTON -- More people accessed Edmonton's Food Bank last month than ever before, according to newly released numbers.
A total of 23,119 clients were helped by the food bank in October—8,645 of them were youths and 14,474 were adults.
That's an increase of more than 1,000 clients from October 2018, when 22,118 clients accessed the food bank.
The majority of families that used the food bank were single-parent families, and people between the ages of 31 to 44 were most likely to access it.
The Edmonton numbers are in contrast to a nationwide trend that saw food bank use stabilize this year, with roughly the same number of overall visits as there were in 2018, a Food Banks Canada report said.
"While still a shockingly high number of food bank visits for one month, it is 1 per cent lower than it was last year," the report says. "This corresponds to strong economic indicators such as low unemployment rates."
The report also found that the percentage of children accessing food banks is declining overall, though youth under 18 are still overrepresented.
Edmonton's Food Bank shared the data as it prepared to launch its 2019 holiday season campaign.
The non-profit set a goal for its holiday campaign, which runs from Nov. 12 to Jan. 10, to collect 370,000 kilograms of food and $2,000,000.
"These goals are essential in allowing the organization to provide festive community meals and hampers while also ensuring services, remain consistent into 2020," Edmonton's Food Bank said in a news release.
Festive Brown Bags will be set up throughout the community to accept donations, and the organization said it will take donations in any bag or box.
Nearly 400 events in Edmonton are planned to raise donations and funds for the food bank this year including YEG Candy Cane Lane, a massive Christmas light display that takes place in Edmonton's Crestwood community.
