Hunger afflicts one in every seven people on Earth.

(World Health Organization, 2003)

How can we be sure that we have enough good food?

How can we be sure that those in the developing world will have enough as well?

What are some of the other problems associated with the food trade? (local jobs in food production lost, pollution from transportation, farmers paid poorly, pesticides and herbicides used, large amounts of water needed, people are growing food for export rather than to feed their families, etc.)

Food Insecurity is a complex and rising problem. It takes many forms, from food scarcity to lack of nutritious food. It plagues people around the globe, spanning continents and crossing borders.

The same factors that cause food insecurity: the environment, economics and politics, are also the keys to solving the crisis.

Food security is built on three pillars: Food availability: sufficient quantities of

food available on a consistent basis. Food access: having sufficient resources to

obtain appropriate foods for a nutritious diet.

Food use: appropriate use based on knowledge of basic nutrition and care, as well as adequate water and sanitation.

A Canadian perspective looks at defining situations of zero hunger, a sustainable food system, and healthy and safe food; they look at the ideal result and steps needed to be taken to get there (Food Secure Canada 2006).

Zero hunger is when “all people at all times must be able to acquire, in a dignified manner, adequate quantity and quality of culturally and personally acceptable food” (Food Secure Canada 2006).

A sustainable food system “means that food in Canada must be harvested, produced, processed, distributed and consumed in a manner which maintains and enhances the quality of land, air and water for future generations, and in which people are able to earn a living wage in a safe and healthy working environment by harvesting, growing, producing, processing, handling, retailing and serving food” (Food Secure Canada 2006).

Healthy and safe food ties into a sustainable food system, one does not work without the other.

Although Canada is one the wealthiest countries in the world, 9% or 2.7 million Canadians are considered "food insecure"(Canadian Community Health Survey, 2004).

This means that many Canadians are not sure where their next meal is coming from or if they’ll have enough resources to prepare a sufficient and nutritious meal for themselves or their families.

Income Assistance Recipients - People who receive income assistance as their main source of income, make up over 50% of the clients at food banks. This may suggest that welfare rates in Canada are not enough to ensure food security for low-income Canadians, which, according to the National Council of Welfare, continue to fall below poverty lines.

Working Poor - The second largest group of food bank clients are people with jobs, at about 13.1%. Due to low wage incomes, they are unable to meet basic needs for themselves and their families, even with full-time jobs.

• Seniors - About 7.1% of food bank clients are seniors.

 Children - Children under 18 represent approximately 40.7% of food bank clients in Canada, and the situation of child poverty has not improved since 1989 when Canada had made an all-party resolution to end child poverty. This representation is directly tied to the level of household income, 50% of recipients are families with children.

• Lone Mothers - According to Statistics Canada,1 in 4 of Canada’s lone-parent or single-parent families, are headed by women; 41% of whom, in 2001, were living below the poverty line.

• Unequal distribution of food globally and locally• Societal treatment of food as a commodity• Inadequate resources to produce food in a sustainable way• Limiting trade restrictions and government policies on food exportation and importation• Poverty

Short-Term +  Capacity Building + Redesign = Food Security

Short-term relief strategies are the first level on the Food Security continuum. 

This level represents emergency programs such as charitable food distribution agencies which intervene to prevent hunger and famine in times of environmental, societal or personal crisis.

Food banks first arose in Canada during a period of large scale unemployment and recession in 1981 in Edmonton, AB as an “emergency measure,” with the expectation that when the crisis was over, the program would fold.

Babies First/Steps and StagesPregnant women and families with children under 18 months have access to a food cupboard, food vouchers, nutritious snacks and lunch at these CPNP/CAPC drop-in programs at the Ontario Early Years Centre. Soup KitchensUsually held in a church basement or other community building where the community provides free food to people living on the street or who are in need.

Can you think of a few other examples?

The second rung along the food security continuum is a capacity building approach. 

Strategies in this category reflect an effort to bridge gaps between the community and public policy, and to build-up the capacity of individuals to improve or control their own food-provision situation.

The Community Food Security Movement combines components of food security with community strategies that ensure all members of the community have an affordable and quality food supply.

 “Give a person a fish, and you feed them for a day; teach a person to fish, and they can feed  themselves for a lifetime.” 

Community Kitchens (Peer-Led)• Collective Kitchens are a place where people can meet to cook food for themselves and/or their families. Prices are kept low as meals are planned based around supermarket specials. Community Members may meet twice a month - once to plan and once to cook 3 to 5 meals to take home.

•  Collective Kitchens are often supported by a variety of service clubs and community organizations so the cost to participants is minimal.

Community Gardens• A Community Garden is a cooperative venture in which families, groups or individuals get together to grow their own vegetables, fruits, herbs, and flowers on public or private land. There are several sites located around the city to garden. Gleaning• The ability to pick fruits and vegetables for free. Farmers donate their extra produce and local churches pay for the bus transportation. Because produce ripens quickly and farmers are never sure when they will have any excess, gleaning trips are usually organized on short notice. Last year tomatoes, corn, strawberries and raspberries were some of the fruits and vegetables gleaned by community members.

• This is a fantastic way to ensure that foods will not be wasted that cannot be sold from farmers. It also offers healthy, fresh products for citizens but is limited because it is organized on short notice

The redesign approach is the most effective strategy for attacking the core issues of poverty, food system sustainability, and promoting the connection between health and social environment.

Several recent structural redesign commitments,(within the past 15 years) which the Canadian government has made, include: the World Declaration on Nutrition and the Plan of Action for Nutrition (1992), the World Summit for Social Development (1995), the Declaration on World Food Security (1996), Canada's Action Plan on Food Security (1998)  and the Declaration on World Food Security – Five Years Later (2002). All of these target the appropriate issue within the social structure, however they have not yet been fulfilled and a large proportion of Canadian citizen's continue to live marginally (3).

The National Nutritious Food Basket (NNFB), which is a list of 66 food items that has been validated for use in Nova Scotia to estimate the cost of a basic, nutritious diet, was used to survey 43  randomly selected grocery stores and an additional 14 more under the supervision of the Nova Scotia  Nutrition Council.  In 2002 it was found that the cost of the NNFB for a family of four was $502.79, a   price which many Nova Scotians cannot afford, especially those living on Income Assistance or earning  minimum-wage.   <http://www.nsnc.ca/Research%20Project%20Reports/FoodCostingReport2002.pdf

• Issues of income, health, & the evolution of the food system, including ecological sustainability & social and cultural diversity.

• News, food security course, conferences, publications, resources.   www.ryerson.ca/~foodsec

Youth play an enormous part in the issue of food security, as they are what keep the awareness and aid continuing for future generations and they will be a significant part of the work behind the complete elimination of hunger, not only on a local community bases, but also on the large global scale.

Without their interest in the improvement of the well being for all mankind, initiatives such as food banks, community relief programs, etc., would not continue and would eventually fade out.

Today’s youth are becoming more and more distant from the problems that we all face today as local and global communities, one being hunger.

Organizations and Resources Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Food Security Bureau:

www.agr.gc.ca/misb/fsb/FSB2eng.html Campaign 2000: http://www.campaign2000.ca/ Campaign Against Child Poverty: http://www.childpoverty.com/ Canadian Council on Social Development: http://www.ccsd.ca/ Canadian Association for Community Service-Learning:

http://www.communityservicelearning.ca/ Canadian Association of Food Banks: http://www.cafb-acba.ca/ Canadian Food Security Network: www.ryerson.ca/~foodsec/fd.htm Community Food Security Coalition: http://www.foodsecurity.org/ Daily Bread Food Bank: http://www.dailybread.ca/ Dietitians of Canada: http://www.dietitians.ca/ End Canadian Poverty: http://www.endcanadianpoverty.ca/ Food Security Assembly: http://www.foodsecurityassembly.ca/ Food Secure Canada: http://www.foodsecurecanada.org/ FoodShare: http://www.foodshare.ca/ National Anti-Poverty Organization: http://www.napo-onap.ca/ Santropol Roulant: http://www.santropolroulant.org/ Second Harvest: http://www.secondharvest.ca/ The Stop Community Food Centre: http://www.thestop.org/ The Student Food Network: http://www.studentfood.ca/

Volatile Food Prices – Read article http://www.npr.org/2011/06/22/137324767/

volatile-food-prices-grab-g-20s-full-attentionFollow‐up Questions: Why are politicians becoming more involved

with the issue of food insecurity? The radio broadcast reports that many

organizations predict food prices to double in upcoming years. If this happens, what do you think the political effects will be?

What about the humanitarian effects?

aim broad, long-term, important goal chutney spicy relish made from fruits, sugar, vinegar and spices co-ordinate to manage activities by working together with

others curing to preserve meat or fish by smoking, drying or salting cyanide a very poisonous chemical found naturally in cassava

environment the natural habitat of soil, climate, vegetation and living things

genetic variability the natural variation between plants (or animals) of the same species that causes differences in height, colour or yield, for example

grains the seed or fruit of cereal crops

hybrid high-yielding offspring produced by breeding two different varieties of cereal (or livestock). Retaining seed from a hybrid crop for planting will usually give poor results.

jam sweet spread made from fruit and sugar

kiln special oven used to process foods by smoking and drying

objective measurable activity which contributes towards achieving the main aim

pickle vegetables preserved in spices and vinegar

potassium metabisulphite a preservative

resource something needed to achieve an objective: money, information, human skills or natural products

shea butter oil obtained from the fruit of the shea butter tree

tarpaulin heavy waterproofed canvas material

traditional crops crop varieties which have been passed down from one generation to another