Manitoba leads the country in food bank usage.
A new report out Tuesday shows food bank use grew 2.4 per cent in Canada the past year.
In Manitoba, it grew a whopping 14.2 per cent. The next highest increase was in P.E.I., at 10 per cent.
Marla Somersall of the Manitoba Association of Food Banks says those big increases are worrying.
"What jumps up most is that we're still going up so much more in food bank use across the province. We really need to see those numbers turn around," she said Tuesday.
And it's not just a big city problem — Somersall said rural people are struggling too, largely because of transportation costs.
"If they don't have access to a vehicle, they're completely reliant on what's available in their community," she said.
"They're paying the cost of transportation for themselves, as well as everything they purchase from their community."
The study, called HungerCount 2012, found nearly five per cent of Manitobans used a food bank in March 2012 alone, the highest rate per capita.
More than 63,000 Manitobans used food banks last year. Fifty per cent are children, compared with 38 per cent nationally.
David Northcott, executive director of Winnipeg Harvest, said more children from two-parent families used food banks this year than children from single-parent families.
Northcott said nevertheless, Harvest's goal is to reduce the need for food bank use by 2020.
Overall, more than 882,000 Canadians used a food bank in March 2012, says the annual study by Food Banks Canada.