Food insecurity numbers in Canada have reached astonishing levels.
According to the latest Who’s Hungry report from Daily Bread and North York Harvest food banks, the number of people depending on food banks in Toronto has doubled compared to the previous year, with one out of every 10 individuals relying on them.
Food bank use hit an all-time high this year, with more than 2.5 million visits recorded between April 2022 and March 2023, marking a staggering 50 percent increase from the previous year.
Alarmingly, there are no signs of this trend slowing down.
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The Hunger Count, released last month by Food Bank Canada, revealed that more than two million Canadians rely on food banks.
Even Statistics Canada has joined the chorus of alarming food insecurity statistics, indicating that 18 percent of Canadian families experienced some degree of food insecurity in 2022.
Regardless of where you look, the data is grim.
While some have pointed fingers at Ottawa, provinces, or grocers for our society’s predicament, our situation results from a combination of factors, many of which have nothing to do with Canada. Issues such as disrupted supply chains, the conflict in Ukraine, and the impact of climate change on global regions have all contributed.
In fact, Canada is faring relatively better than many other countries.
Yet, seeing so many Canadians going hungry is disheartening in a nation where we export more than $85 billion worth of agri-food products.
Many reports include a list of recommendations, such as expediting the construction of more affordable housing and swiftly implementing the Canada Disability Benefit, guaranteeing a minimum income.
However, these require additional capital, increased government involvement, and added bureaucracy. Canadians already pay a substantial amount of taxes and may not be eager to fund new costly programs that could become permanent, especially as the cost of servicing our debt continues to rise.
Nevertheless, one program could offer assistance to people in need without straining existing not-for-profits or significantly adding to public expenditure. Nova Scotia, Montreal, and British Columbia have successfully launched community food coupon programs. These programs aim to support low-income households in acquiring fresh, nutritious, locally sourced food, enhancing food literacy, and encouraging healthier food choices.
Notably, these programs provide participating households with regular allocations of an alternative currency, known as “food bucks,” that can only be redeemed at farmers’ markets. Unlike grocery rebates, which have cost Ottawa over $2.5 billion without assurance that the money was spent on food, these coupons can only be used to purchase food and support our farmers.
The costs associated with implementing these programs are minimal. Nova Scotia’s program costs approximately $350,000, while Montreal’s received support from Desjardins totalling $50,000. In contrast, British Columbia’s program, launched in 2021, requires about $1 million a year to assist 10,000 households. The province has the second-lowest food insecurity rate in the country, at 16.9 percent, according to Statistics Canada, despite soaring real estate prices.
If Canada needs one program that can make a substantial impact right now, offering the best value for our investment, it would undoubtedly be such a program.
Sylvain Charlebois is senior director of the agri-food analytics lab and a professor in food distribution and policy at Dalhousie University. This article first appeared on the Troy Media website. It has been edited for length.
