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Experts sound alarm on ‘foodinsecurity’ in Canada
HEIDI WESTFIELD, SPECIAL TO NATIONAL POST | March 18, 2016 4:24 PM ETMore from Special to National Post
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Lineups at food banks are not new, but the economic downturn has made them even morepronounced. The number of new people using the Calgary Food Bank has grownsignificantly in the past year.
“The demand is increasing,” James McAra said. “This is the worst I have seen. It tells methe story of what is happening in Calgary.”
McAra began working at the Calgary Food Bank 15 years ago, as “chief cook and bottlewasher.” Today, he is the president and CEO, overseeing more than 60 staff membersand hundreds of volunteers. They served 3 million meals and snacks to the hungry lastyear alone. More than 40 per cent of their clients are children.
While the situation in Calgary is aggravated by the plunge in oil prices, researchers saymillions of Canadians find it a challenge to put food on the table. They have collected data
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Photo courtesy of Daily Bread Food Bank.Workers unload a food box at Toronto's Daily Bread Food Bank.
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that suggests what is called “food insecurity” is a serious issue affecting households allacross the country.
The term is used differently for countries in the developing world, where food shortagesare common, and for the developed world, where food insecurity is often connected toincome. In Canada, food insecurity is defined by experts as “inadequate or insecureaccess to food because of financial constraints.”
“By our best estimate, there are more than 4 million Canadians currently living in situationswhere they are struggling to afford the food that they need,” said Dr. Valerie Tarasuk, aUniversity of Toronto professor and a principal author of a series of reports on HouseholdFood Insecurity in Canada. “It is a very serious problem, and if we don’t pay attention to it,it just festers.”
Tarasuk works with Proof, an interdisciplinary, cross-jurisdictional research team. Usingdata from the Canadian Community Health Survey, the group compiled a comprehensivelook at the state of food insecurity in Canada.
Food insecurity can vary from mild to severe, and encompasses a range of experiences. Itincludes anything from running out of food before there is more money to buy more, to theinability to afford a balanced diet. In more severe cases, food insecurity is defined asgoing hungry, missing meals, or not eating for a whole day because of a lack of money tobuy food.
The most recent available national measure, from the year 2011-2012, suggests awidespread problem that shows few signs of easing.
The northern territories of Canada face the most daunting levels of food insecurity. ForTarasuk, the data that stands out the most is from Nunavut, where they estimate thatalmost half the households are food insecure. “It is a situation that is disastrous,” Tarasuksaid. “It is a distinct problem that merits immediate attention.”
The problem is not limited to the north. Alberta, British Columbia, Quebec, and Ontarioaccount for the largest share — 85 per cent of food-insecure individuals. It is also apersistent issue in the Maritimes.
The rising cost of produce, meat, and other foods affects their affordability. The lowCanadian dollar doesn’t help when it comes to groceries imported from the United States.Still, according to Tarasuk, those variables simply exacerbate an already troublingsituation. She believes food insecurity in Canada is closely tied to a lack of incomesecurity.
“Food is not the only struggle they have,” Tarasuk said. “Invariably, there are a whole lot ofthings they cannot afford. They can be behind in their rent, for example, and likely haveinappropriate housing.”
At the Daily Bread Food Bank in Toronto, executive director Gail Nyberg believes foodinsecurity can happen to anyone who experiences a job loss or family breakdown. Shealso points to low salaries and welfare allowances. In Toronto, where rents are high, asingle person could easily spend his/her welfare cheque on housing alone, leaving littleroom to buy groceries.
“We have lots of food in Canada,” Nyberg said. “There is no shortage of food. There is ashortage of income to buy it.”
Nyberg believes it is time to open a national conversation, and look at changing some ofthe rules around government assistance. It is also something Tarasuk at Proof would liketo see. She is a proponent of a basic support at the federal level to give all Canadians aminimum income. Her research has found that since 2005, the problem has grown acrossmost of the country. She says that is unlikely to change, unless new measures are brought
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Maple Leaf Foods is raising awareness for the critical need to address food insecuritynationally, regionally and locally in Canada. To join the conversation and recognize thepeople in your community who are trying to solve it by nourishing the potential of otherswith good food, follow the #FeeditForward hashtag on social media and visitmapleleaf.com. To learn about Maple Leaf’s Food Security Commitment, visithttp://www.mapleleafsustainability.com
This story was produced by Postmedia Content Works in collaboration with Maple LeafFoods to promote awareness of this topic for commercial purposes. Postmedia’seditorial departments had no involvement in the creation of this content.
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