Given the current context of inflation under which the overall cost of living, including the cost of food, is increasing, it is no surprise that food insecurity is increasing as well. This has not only been observed by researchers,1<\/sup> but also by food banks, charities and non-profit organizations who have been raising the alarm among governments and the general public to an unprecedented extent since the beginning of the pandemic.2<\/sup> In fact, food insecurity in Canada has hit a record-breaking high. The 2023 estimates from Statistics Canada\u2019s Canadian Income Survey suggest that, across the ten provinces, 6.9 million people lived in households experiencing food insecurity in 2022, an increase from 15.9% (2021) to 17.8% (2022).3<\/sup>\u00a0Food insecurity has always been high in the three territories, especially in Nunavut\u2014in 2022, 46.1% of people in Nunavut, 22.2% of people in the Northwest Territories, and 12.8% of people in Yukon lived in food-insecure households.4<\/sup><\/p>\n It is important to understand that not everyone is at equal risk of experiencing food insecurity. To give one example, the Canadian Income Survey reports that food insecurity is much more prevalent in renter households than among homeowners, whether they have a mortgage or not.5<\/sup> Food insecurity in Canada also disproportionately affects Indigenous and Black households: in 2022, the highest rates of individuals living in food-insecure households was found among Black people at 39.2% and Indigenous people at 33.4%.6<\/sup><\/p>\n In fact, decades of research on food insecurity have demonstrated that some groups (racialized and Indigenous people, immigrants\/refugees, women\/single mothers) are more affected by food insecurity than others7<\/sup>, revealing that the phenomenon has more to do with systemic inequality and discrimination than with personal \u201cfailings.\u201d8<\/sup><\/p>\n Researchers analyzing the specific and distinct causes of food insecurity among Indigenous communities across Canada have identified several systemic and structural causes explaining the high rates of food insecurity within these communities (apart from systemic discrimination), such as the long-lasting impacts of colonialism and development of colonial policies that restrict access to traditional foods and foodways9<\/sup>; climate change10<\/sup> and environmental racism.11<\/sup><\/p>\n Researchers and many food organizations clearly state that food insecurity will not be solved by charities or food banks.12<\/sup> PROOF, the Food Insecurity Policy Research Group based at the University of Toronto, has shown that policy intervention is key to addressing the roots of this issue.13<\/sup> Research with and by food organizations in Canada has also demonstrated the problems with the charity model in addressing food inequality. Among other elements, it has highlighted: how some people will not seek aid when needed because of stigma and shame; the impossibility of having access to adequate food via food banks; and the lack of resources, which lead food banks to struggle to meet the needs of the people they serve.14<\/sup> And yet, since the 1980s, governments have chosen to disinvest from social policies and welfare and have consistently favoured a charity-based model to fight hunger.15<\/sup><\/p>\n This collective failure to effectively address food insecurity is intimately tied to the dominant discourse surrounding poverty and food insecurity, which is still riddled with stigma and neoliberal ideals of success and individual responsibility.16<\/sup><\/p>\n As we are observing record highs of food insecurity and hearing from food banks that they are unable to adequately respond to the increased demand, we find ourselves at a critical juncture that requires from us to reimagine how we address the issues at stake.<\/p>\n Food groups at the forefront of the countrywide fight against food insecurity are advocating for systemic and structural responses to the issue. This event features some of these groups, so that we can learn from them and rethink the food charity model as we work towards more just food futures.<\/p>\n 1 PROOF. (2023). New data on household food insecurity in 2022. PROOF. <\/span>https:\/\/proof.utoronto.ca\/2023\/new-data-on-household-food-insecurity-in-2022\/<\/span><\/a>; Statistics Canada. (2023). The Daily-Canadian Income Survey, 2021. <\/span>https:\/\/www150.statcan.gc.ca\/n1\/daily-quotidien\/230502\/dq230502a-eng.htm<\/span><\/a>; Li T, Fafard St-Germain AA, Tarasuk V. (2023) Household food insecurity in Canada, 2022. Toronto: Research to identify policy options to reduce food insecurity (PROOF). Retrieved from <\/span>https:\/\/proof.utoronto.ca\/<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n 2 Cousineau, M.-E. (2023). Hausse des prix, d\u00e9clin de la sant\u00e9. <\/span>Le Devoir<\/span><\/i>. <\/span>https:\/\/www.ledevoir.com\/societe\/796292\/hausse-des-prix-declin-de-la-sante<\/span><\/a>; Currie, B. (2023). \u201cPeople are struggling\u201d: Almost 1 in 4 Nova Scotians are food insecure, data shows. <\/span>CBC<\/span><\/i>. <\/span>https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/news\/canada\/nova-scotia\/food-insecurity-data-nova-scotia-2022-1.6833773<\/span><\/a>; Food Banks Canada. (2022). Hunger Count 2021. <\/span>https:\/\/www.moissonmontreal.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/HungerCount_2021.pdf<\/span><\/a>; Gear, A. (2023). Food advocates team up to raise awareness of people\u2019s rights to proper\u00a0<\/span>nutrition. <\/span>CBC<\/span><\/i>. <\/span>https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/news\/canada\/newfoundland-labrador\/food-security-human-right-1.6858987<\/span><\/a>; Pamic, H. (2023). Working-class folks are now food-bank clients. <\/span>Toronto Star<\/span><\/i>. <\/span>https:\/\/www.thestar.com\/opinion\/working-class-folks-are-now-food-bank-clients\/article_b62dbd3d-e549-57c2-bb39-b7ed456422f2.html<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n 3 Li et al., 2023.<\/span><\/p>\n 4 Li et al., 2023.<\/span><\/p>\n 5 In 2022, 27.5 % of the renter households were food-insecure, compared to 16.4 % of homeowners with a mortgage and 8.4 % of homeowners without a mortgage (Li et al., 2023).<\/span><\/p>\n 6 <\/span>Li et al., 2023.<\/span><\/p>\n 7 Dhunna, S., & Tarasuk, V. (2021). Black\u2013white racial disparities in household food insecurity from 2005 to 2014, Canada. <\/span>Canadian Journal of Public Health, 112<\/span><\/i>(5), 888\u2013902; Fournier, F. (2022). La faim justifie des moyens. S\u2019engager \u00e0 r\u00e9duire durablement et \u00e0 pr\u00e9venir l\u2019ins\u00e9curit\u00e9 alimentaire des m\u00e9nages au Qu\u00e9bec. Observatoire des in\u00e9galit\u00e9s. <\/span>https:\/\/cdn.ca.yapla.com\/company\/CPYMZxfbWTbVKVvSt3IBEClc\/asset\/files\/La-faim-justifie-des-moyens.pdf<\/span><\/a>; Li, P. (2021). When it comes to tackling food insecurity, tackling anti-Black racism is an important part of the puzzle. PROOF. <\/span>https:\/\/proof.utoronto.ca\/2021\/anti-black-racism\/<\/span><\/a>; Matheson, J. A., & McIntyre, L. (2014). Women respondents report higher household food insecurity than do men in similar Canadian households. <\/span>Public Health Nutrition, 17<\/span><\/i>(1), 40\u201348; PROOF. (n.d.). Indigenous Food Insecurity. <\/span>https:\/\/proof.utoronto.ca\/resources\/indigenous-food-insecurity\/<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n 8 De Souza, R. (2019). <\/span>Feeding the other: Whiteness, privilege, and neoliberal stigma in food pantries<\/span><\/i>. Massachusetts: MIT Press.<\/span><\/p>\n 9 Bodirsky, M., & Johnson, J. (2008). Decolonizing Diet: Healing by Reclaiming Traditional Indigenous Foodways. Cuizine: Journal of Canadian Food Cultures, 1<\/em>(1).; Dennis, M. K., & Robin, T. (2020). Healthy on our own terms: Indigenous wellbeing and the colonized food system. Critical Dietetics, 5<\/em>(1).; Gavenus, E. R., Beveridge, R., & Satterfield, T. (2023). Restorative diets: A methodological exploration comparing historical and contemporary salmon harvest rates. Ecology and Society, 28<\/em>(2); Martin, D., & Amos, M. (2017). What constitutes good food? Towards a critical Indigenous perspective on food and health. In M. Koc\u0326, A. Winson, & J. M. Sumner (Eds.), Critical perspectives in food studies<\/em> (2nd edition, pp. 205\u2013220). Oxford University Press; Richmond, C., Kerr, R. B., Neufeld, H., Steckley, M., Wilson, K., & Dokis, B. (2021). Supporting food security for Indigenous families through the restoration of Indigenous foodways. Canadian Geographies \/ G\u00e9ographies Canadiennes, 65<\/em>(1), 97\u2013109.<\/span><\/p>\n 10 Beaumier, M. C., & Ford, J. D. (2010). Food insecurity among Inuit women exacerbated by socioeconomic stresses and climate change. Canadian Journal of Public Health, 101<\/em>(3), 196\u2013201.<\/p>\n 11 Ahmed, F. et al. (2023). Indigenous Land-Based Approaches to Well-Being: The Niska (Goose) Harvesting Program in Subarctic Ontario, Canada. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20<\/em>(4), 3686.; Co-operative Housing Federation of BC. (2022). Environmental Racism & Our Food System. CHF BC<\/em>. https:\/\/www.chf.bc.ca\/sustainability-newsletters\/environmental-racism-food-system\/<\/a>; Liboiron, M. (2021). Pollution Is Colonialism<\/em>. Durham: Duke University Press.<\/p>\n 12 Dachner, N., & Tarasuk, V. (2017). Origins and Consequences of and Responses to Food Insecurity in Canada. In M. Koc\u0326, A. Winson, & J. M. Sumner (Eds.), Critical perspectives in food studies<\/em> (2nd edition). Oxford University Press; PROOF 2023a; 2023b; Rideout, K. et al. (2007). Bringing home the right to food in Canada: Challenges and possibilities for achieving food security. Public Health Nutrition, 10<\/em>(6), 566\u2013573; Tarasuk, V., Fafard St-Germain, A.-A., & Loopstra, R. (2020). The Relationship Between Food Banks and Food Insecurity: Insights from Canada. Voluntas (Manchester, England), 31<\/em>(5), 841\u2013852.<\/p>\nWho is food insecure in Canada?<\/b><\/h2>\n
How is food insecurity currently being addressed by governmental authorities?<\/b><\/h2>\n
References:\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n