B.C. food banks are trying to step up to meet soaring demand, but they can\u0027t fix the root problems
The organization uses app technology to provide “food rescues” by matching food surpluses from business, such as hotels, catering services and stores, with community organizations servicing those in need.
, 58 per cent of food produced in Canada, or 35.5 million tonnes, is lost or wasted annually. Most of that is wasted by the food industry, not individual consumers. Like most food charities, Food Runners doesn’t have dedicated government funding. “It’s grant by grant,” said Reining.surplus meals doesn’t address systemic issues of poverty and food insecurity., a research program dedicated to identifying policy measures that could improve household food security in Canada, adults struggling with food insecurity are at greater risk for physical and mental health problems including mood and anxiety disorders, depression, infectious diseases, chronic pain and premature death.Article content In children, food insecurity at an early age is associated with childhood mental health problems. Child hunger has been linked to increased risk of depression and suicidal thoughts in adolescence and early adulthood. Pinky Kaur, left, a volunteer for the Food Bank on Wheels hnds food to single mom Monika Skinner in Coquitlam.Monica Skinner, a mother of three who has an eight-year-old and a teenager living with her, has always put a priority on good nutrition for her three kids, but inflation hit hard in 2022. “I was trying to provide my children with nutritious meals at home. It was a serious juggle. I lost the juggle,” said Skinner. She lost her housing in April after being unable to meet ever-increasing expenses on a low-paying wage from her job at a convenience store.This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.“The rising costs of food were impacting us greatly. It was hard to pay for both food and shelter. Eventually I could not pay for my rent in full and we got evicted. A one-bedroom apartment is $2,200 a month. I couldn’t afford that and feed my family.”” Since April, Skinner and her two children have been in the “shelter shuffle,” moving from one shelter to the next. “No one should have to live like this,” said Skinner who describes her situation as stressful and traumatizing. Skinner feels lucky to have the support of Food Bank on Wheels. The shelter allows her to cook for her kids. More than anything, she wants stable housing. She doesn’t know how that can happen. “If I get market housing, I will be in the same position again. We are talking about choosing between paying the bills and paying for food.”Article content It’s a story Chris Miroslaw has seen over and over as development director of the Food Bank On Wheels. The charity has 100 clientsThe need seems endless. “We alone can’t handle the pressure of everyone calling — seniors, people with disabilities, people in shelters — each story is very different.” While donations have increased over past year, said Miroslaw, costs have also gone up. Gas is up, and so is the cost of groceries. While charities and volunteer organizations can provide meals, ultimately they don’t get to the root of the problem, said Soma. Policy changes that stabilize and ensure adequate income, such as improvements to minimum wage, social assistance rates, pensions and child benefits, are required, she said.Article content Soma also advocates a human rights approach to ensure the development of food policies administered by all three levels of government.The right to food was included in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1948, and is part of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, to which Canada is a signatory.An example is Brazil’s food security project. It used less than two per cent of that city’s budget to create subsidized, low-cost restaurants, to supply nutritious food to public schools, daycares, nursing homes and shelters, and to organize farmers markets.Article content “It’s the government that is taking charge and making sure their citizens are not hungry, here the responsibility is downloaded by to foodbanks, donations, and food surplus,” Soma said. Last May, the federal government allocated $2 million from the Local Food Infrastructure Fund for a number of community-based and not-for-profit organizations such as food banks and the province earmarked $2.85 million in funding to help food banks and other organizations. In Vancouver, the city allocated a total of $5.9M towards relieving food insecurity in 2022: $3.3 million went toward meals at the Gathering Place and Carnegie Community Centre; $203,000 went to grants for community food projects, andThis advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.But without systemic change, no number of meals, cans or bags of groceries can fix the larger issue, said Soma. “There have to be non-food solutions,” said Soma. “It’s not just about making food cheaper. If you live in a city you need a wage to support you, it has to match the cost of living.” In the meanwhile, organizations like Food Runners will keep rescuing food, food banks will keep asking for donations and individual champions like Luisa Deziel will continue to do what they need to do to help.At the community pantry, replenishments come daily from someone emptying a refrigerator before a vacation, from nearby bakeries, or kind neighbours who note when the box is empty.Share this Story:
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