Food insecurity needs a better response
Spencer van Vloten explains why it matters to everyone, and what to do.
Canada has a hunger problem, one deeply misunderstood by government. Investments in people, not food, are needed to keep Canadians fed.
Cakes, cookies, tender meats, mashed potatoes and more.
We are into one of the most indulgent times of the year, but for every few people feasting over the holidays, there will be someone going hungry. Roughly six million Canadians experience food insecurity, meaning inadequate or insecure access to food.
While food insecurity is particularly high among Indigenous persons and people on social assistance, it impacts nearly every segment: the young and old, the employed and jobless, newcomers and Canadian-born.
If you are comfortably fed, you may ask why it is your problem. Let's start with your health and your wallet.
Food insecurity is debilitating to mental and physical well-being, contributing to depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation, while increasing vulnerability to infectious diseases, heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, arthritis, and chronic pain.
The greater the food insecurity, the more severe these conditions become. Those living in food-insecure households require longer, more frequent and more expensive hospital stays — more than doubling the cost of care for these people over what a food-secure person needs.
It is the public who foots the bill for this care, both through taxes and longer waiting times for their maladies, for which a few minutes could be the difference between life or death.
And it is not just our own health being impacted.
One of the most overlooked aspects of hunger is the damage to the environment and resulting increase in food prices. Approximately 58 per cent of food produced in Canada — amounting to 2.3 million tonnes and $20 billion in value — is wasted each year. This could feed millions of Canadians, but ends up in landfills where it decomposes and produces as much CO2 as two million cars on the road.
Canadian farmers are increasingly feeling the impact of climatic events, being pounded by floods and drought, having to pay greater fuel and fertilizer costs, then passing costs to all consumers.
This cycle jeopardizes production and makes food less affordable, contributing to even greater food insecurity.
While government is aware of Canada's problem, it shows a deep misunderstanding of its roots.
In response to growing food insecurity during the pandemic, federal and provincial governments launched unprecedented investments into food banks and other community food programs.
There is now a large network of non-profit food providers across Canada, but while these initiatives get food into stomachs and thus serve a purpose, they are Band-Aids with virtually no impact on food insecurity in the long-run. It is unsurprising considering that only a tiny percentage of Canadians experiencing food insecurity access food banks — usually only as a last resort.
What the food charity model lacks is the ability to directly address the crux of the matter: people are food-insecure because they do not have the money in their pockets to buy enough food. How do you change that? By putting more money in their pockets.
Just a $1,000 increase in annual welfare income is associated with five per cent lower odds of severe food insecurity, which is far more prevalent among households relying on social assistance.
An increase in minimum wage — even by just $1 an hour — is associated with decreased hunger and food insecurity, with the benefit of a higher minimum wage outweighing the impact of any resulting unemployment.
Conversely, raising income tax by one per cent on the lowest tax bracket, and thus taking money out of people's pockets, corresponds with a nine per cent rise in food insecurity.
This much is clear: Government must move its focus from investing in food to investing in people.
Federally, the recent increase to the Canada Child Benefit was a positive step, and the timely implementation of the proposed Canada Disability Benefit would be just as welcome.
Provinces must also raise social assistance rates — which are far below the poverty line in every province — and tie them to inflation, like public pensions are.
And clearly defined, legislated targets must be set to judge progress and hold government accountable.
Until our policy-makers see that the hear t of the issue is not food itself, far too many Canadians will go hungry.