Maurice Gagnon has volunteered for more than a decade at the Calgary Inter-Faith Food Bank. (CBC)

Alberta's food banks are helping to feed thousands of new people this year because of a combination of job losses and the high cost of living.

Nearly 54,000 people used Alberta's food banks in March, a 60 per cent increase from the previous year and the biggest increase in the country, according to Food Banks Canada.

The economic downturn has not only meant tens of thousands of layoffs across the province, but the cost of living, especially housing, continues to remain high, the organization said n a report released Tuesday.

"What is new this year is that the 'working poor' … and those struggling on fixed incomes have been joined by those who, believing they had a stable income, stretched their expenses, only to see all or part of that income disappear."

The increase in demand has been obvious to the people who volunteer and work at Calgary's Inter-Faith Food Bank.

'We are heavily dependent on the oil industry and that's down significantly. That alone means we are in high demand.'— Albert Deslauriers

"Every year it's more and more," said Maurice Gagnon, who has volunteered for more than a decade. "To me Calgary has to be one of the richest cities in North America and I can't understand why we've got so many homeless people."

According to the report, 27 per cent of the people who used Alberta's food banks in March had some form of income.

"A lot of the hampers that go out are for people who can't afford both — either rent or food — and that's pretty sad to me that that's a fact of life now," Gagnon said.

Another 32 per cent are on social assistance and five per cent are receiving employment insurance. Children, through their parents, account for 43 per cent of the clients.

'An economic crisis'

"Obviously, we are in an economic crisis," said Albert Deslauriers, a vice-president with Calgary's food bank. "I can't really say that I can attribute to any one or two things. We are heavily dependent on the oil industry and that's down significantly. That alone means we are in high demand."

The number of people who need to pick up a hamper doubles over Christmas, which worries co-ordinator Laurie Jeslon, a former client herself.

"We are not bare, but we are getting there," she said. "It's a very busy time right now. Christmas is going to be crazy."