FOOD (IN) SECURITY

The Seeker is hosting a 2-part online Community Action Talk about Food Insecurity on Thursday, January 12 ^th and Thursday, January 24 ^th at 7 pm.

Food insecurity means not having enough nutritious food to meet your basic needs. Usually, because you can’t afford it. 

It is alarming to me to see just how many Canadians are struggling.

The increase in food and grocery item prices is happening because of ongoing Covid-related supply chain issues, the Russian war on Ukraine, corporate greed (grocers posted record profits in 2022) and climate change.

While supply chain issues will stabilize and the Russian war will hopefully end my reading suggests that prices are not likely to go down much. And the abundance we are accustomed to is going to dwindle.

Climate change is already affecting food production and I believe it will only get worse.

High temperatures, droughts, wildfires, floods and insect predation already impact grain, vegetable and fruit crops.

Animal farming is harder than ever. Heat and crop failure makes it more costly to feed and provide water for them. Farm insurance and losing animals from heat-related illnesses raise costs.

In Cornwall, paying for adequate food is already a real challenge to many. Even the “middle class” is gasping at the grocery bill totals.

A 2016 Stats Can report showed that the average salary in Cornwall was some 30% less than the provincial average. The average individual income in the Cornwall region was 39,000; in Cornwall city, it was 30,200 and in Ontario, it was 50,000. But our costs of living are not 30% less! Especially lately!

The reports I’ve read say the best ways to avoid food insecurity are to raise the minimum wage, increase Canada Child Benefits for lower-income families, increase social assistance incomes to liveable levels and implement fair taxation laws that reduce tax for the lowest-income earners.

These solutions may not be implemented so we need to help ourselves by coming up with coping strategies or many of us in Cornwall could face real hardships.

Join us Thursday as we discuss the issue.