A RECENT front-page article in my local newspaper described an initiative citizens are taking to set up a food bank in their town.
Having identified a growing need in their community, they were consulting with a nearby town where a food bank has already been in operation for some years.
These are practical, caring citizens who are taking steps to help families who are unable to afford a basic necessity of life – food.
My first reaction was one of admiration and support. This was followed by serious questions: why are food banks necessary in a region that has massive amounts of food to export? And how come families and individuals are living in such poverty that food insecurity is regular and widespread enough to warrant a food bank?
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Food insecurity is a sure sign of poverty. It’s a well-known truism that “not all the poor are hungry, but all the hungry are poor.”
The need for food banks continues to grow in many Canadian communities. A growing economy and enormous wealth in Canada has not eliminated poverty. In fact, with the exception of seniors, poverty rates in all other age groups have not improved in the past 25 years despite our growing economy.
According to a report released by the National Council for Welfare last month, “income inequality is increasing and for most Canadians income security is decreasing.”
For many, poverty is only two missed paycheques away.
Compare this to the top end of the wage scale. The top 100 CEOs in Canada received an average of $9,059,113 in 2005. The highest paid among them took home (earned?) almost $75 million for his work that year.
In fact, he made as much as a sizable town with 1,969 people working full-time at the average Canadian wage. At minimum wages, it would take 4,696 people working for a full year to earn that amount.
The growth in the economy has not come near to matching the growth in wage disparity. In 1998, the top 100 CEOs made 104 times more than the Canadian average worker’s wage. Today they make 240 times more.
The economic pie is getting bigger but the pieces are being cut more and more unevenly. Many families end up with smaller pieces and are unsure about getting a big enough slice to even pay their housing and grocery bills.
These disparities are not inevitable. They are the result of government policies and priorities. As northern European countries demonstrate, greater equality and a better quality of life for everyone can be achieved along with strong, innovative, highly developed economies. These factors reinforce each other.
Food banks are not a sign of a real shortage of food in prairie towns. Canadian children living in poverty are not a sign of lack of wealth and resources in this country. Rather, both are strong signals that public policy is failing to reflect the values of equality, dignity and food security for families.
Nettie Wiebe is a farmer in the Delisle, Sask., region and a professor of Church and Society at St. Andrews College in Saskatoon.
