Finding remedies to food insecurity

Throughout the past year there has been a significant amount of attention on food insecurity in Canada, from the conversation on food banks to the visit of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food.  More people became aware of the millions of hungry people Canada. Now as the holiday season approaches and the value of giving and generosity is at the forefront, it is time to revisit the conversation.

Ending hunger is an issue of justice, not charity. Dignity for All: the campaign for a poverty-free Canada is hosting a food security policy summit on Tuesday, December 11^th to bring together anti-poverty colleagues, academics and experts on food policy in order to shape recommendations for a federal poverty strategy.  One of the campaigns three core goals is to see the establishment of a federal plan; one which considers the various vulnerable populations, thematic issues such as housing or income security, and that is grounded in a human rights framework.  Next week, following the International Day for Human Rights (December 10^th), the representatives from organizations will come together again and tackle the pressing question of how to end hunger in Canada.

Canada has an obligation to fulfill the human right to food as stated in international covenants the federal government has ratified which acknowledges that people living in Canada have the right be free from hunger.  The primary articulation of this is in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which is a legal document that commits its signatories to ensuring that all rights stated within are respected, protected and fulfilled.  This means that the federal government is obligated to allocated maximum available resources to ensure rights are met.

So how is Canada doing in regards to food security?  Thanks to great work by colleague organizations and the visit from the UN Special Rapporteur, Olivier DeSchutter, we know that millions of people in Canada experience hunger.  In his final report, DeSchutter accused Canada of having a self-righteous attitude towards hunger and expressed shock that there are nearly one million food insecure households in wealthy country like Canada. He was particularly concerned for people living in poverty, Aboriginal Peoples and children.

Just this past October, Food Banks Canada released their 2012 Hunger Count report that noted that food bank use is at an all time high – almost 900,000 people are using food banks monthly.  While children and youth (people under 18 years of age) make up 21% of the population, they make up 38% of people accessing food banks in Canada. Single-parent families account for 16% of the Canadian population, and 25% of food bank users. Families with children make up 49% of households helped by food banks.

Food insecurity is even worse in northern Canada:  First Nations, Metis or Inuit are at much higher risk of food insecurity than other Canadians. From 2008 to 2012, the territories saw a 73% increase in food bank usage. (Hunger Count) Among Inuit adults living in Nunavut, 68.8% were found to be food insecure.  This is six times higher than the Canadian national average.^[1]

Feeding My Family is an organization based in Nunavut that began as a simple facebook page to share the plight of hunger in the north with the rest of Canada.  Now with over 20,000 ‘likes’, and an organization webpage complete with pictures documenting the astronomical food prices in the territories ($28 for cabbage, or $64 for chicken), the group continues to push for changes to food system and greater accessibility to country food and fresh produce up north. Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada reported in their 2009, “Regional Results of Price Surveys” that a family of four in an isolated community in Nunavut would spend $395 to $460 a week to buy a basic nutritious diet. This equates to spending $226 in a southern city such as Ottawa.

Hunger and poverty are interconnected as hunger is a problem associated with low income. Any effort to combat poverty must consider remedies for food insecurity.  This is one of the primary reasons that Dignity for All is hosting the summit on food security next week.

While the summit is not open to the public, there is a free evening forum on food security that is.  The speakers from the summit have agreed to re-present their information for interested community members from 7 – 8:30pm on December 11^th.  The event is taking place at Under One Roof, 251 Bank Street (2^nd Floor) and features:

• Diana Bronson (Executive Director, Food Secure Canada)
• Shawn Pegg (Director of Policy and Research, Food Banks Canada)
• Dr. Valerie Tarasuk (Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Toronto)
• Lauren Goodman (Food Policy Advisor, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami)

Registration is require, and space is limited: please RSVP to [email protected]