This week we have a video blog from ChewOnThis! organizer Adam Vasey with the Downtown Mission of Windsor on how the campaign can engage people in your community to be part of the growing movement from coast-to-coast-to-coast to take national action on poverty and food insecurity.
But first – why do we talk about food insecurity on October 17th (the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty)? Food insecurity is a strong indicator in our work to define what poverty is in Canada. Food is one of our most basic needs, and in Canada, many people do not have reliable access to it.
4 million people in Canada experience food insecurity. 8 in 10 provinces saw an increase in food bank usage since 2016. And in the North, exacerbated by geographic isolation and prohibitive transportation costs, it is even more acute: 2 out of every 5 Northern households are food insecure. In Nunavut, 7 out of 10 Inuit preschoolers live in food insecure households.
Food banks and emergency food services help stem this emergency, but we need to move upstream to solve the real problems of food insecurity. With some 850,000 people using food banks each month across Canada, we need long-term policy solutions to hunger that start at the national level. That’s why we call for a human rights based national anti-poverty plan each October that includes comprehensive policy solutions food insecurity. Be part of the movement and join us this year.
Learn how you can bring this national movement to your community by signing up to host a Chew OnThis! event.
