OTTAWA, Ont. – A new report says the use of food banks rose 2.4 per cent in 2012 compared with last year.

And the number of Canadians needing help to put food on their table is now 31 per cent higher than it was before the 2008 recession.

Katharine Schmidt of Food Bank Canada says the organization had hoped to see numbers level off.

And she says getting them back down is going to require being smarter about how to help people get back on their feet.

The report makes five reccomendations, including a call for more investment in affordable housing so people don’t need to make the choice between paying for rent or paying for food.