Food Banks Canada released their Hunger Count 2015 report Tuesday, which states that more than 850,000 Canadians visited a food bank in the month of March alone and more than one-third of those helped were children.

Food bank use was down in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, but it rose slightly in Nova Scotia.

Single mother Barb Ridout says the Glace Bay Food Bank is a lifeline.

Ridout is mom to three girls, ages 12 and under. Feeding their growing appetites has become much more difficult since being injured on the job two years ago.

Ridout hopes going back to school will eventually help her get back into the workforce, but in the meantime, she has to keep her daughters well-fed.

“They ensure that there's snacks, they ensure that there's juices, as you've seen, and they also, today, have helped me with a couple of dresses for my children,” says Ridout.

Staff at the food bank say Ridout's situation is just one example of a growing problem.

Of the grocery orders they prepare for clients each day, a large percentage go to households with children.

“Last month was 171 children in those families and we see them sometimes when they come in with their parents,” says Sandra McPherson, Glace Bay Food Bank coordinator.

“In the Antigonish area, the number of children has increased by double digits. We're not sure why,” says Nick Jennery, Feed Nova Scotia executive director.

Nearly 36 per cent of Canadians who use food banks are children under 18, according to the Hunger Count 2015 report.

Since the 2008 recession, overall food bank use has increased by more than a quarter.

“There are some, particularly senior citizens, who are almost too embarrassed to admit that they're going hungry,” says Jennery.

“I would only access it maybe once every few months, out of pride,” says Ridout. “That beautiful lady in there said to me, 'you're a single mom with three girls and I would like to see you here every month.’”

Nearly a year ago, a report on child poverty across the country found that one in three children in Cape Breton lives below the poverty line. Fast forward almost exactly a year later and the number of children who use this food bank has only gone up.

“Thirty two per cent in Cape Breton, it should never be,” says McPherson. “But then you have to look at the demographics, you have to look at the work that's here.”

Jennery says the latest numbers should lead to change to programs like social assistance.

“All of this is a call to action for government, academics, people who are experts in social welfare, to take a look at this and come up with a more sustainable policy and approach going forward,” says Jennery.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Ryan MacDonald