Food Insecurity In Canada

First and foremost, lack of indigenous food security is based on their economic poverty because of their isolated location, high shipping costs and the health impact that comes from this isolation and low income. Kangiqsujuaq is an isolated community in the northern most part of Quebec. The community is predominately indigenous people. In a questionnaire given to the inhabitants of this area, it was found that due to their economic status the residents were reducing their food consumption every month because of high cost and low income (Brown et al., 2012). Because of these findings, it was concluded that their food insecurity was chronic rather than temporary, and this is consistent with poverty related to unemployment and under-employment,

The main theme or issue evident in the article is that many indigenous communities are not equipped with the resources that support a healthy lifestyle. In Ontario many of the Indigenous communities are located in remote areas, which are typically limited to good health care, grocery stores or food banks. When grocery stores are available, the cost of the food items is a lot pricier than those of the urban environments.

In a report titled “BMCC Addresses Food Insecurity and its Impact on Students” Karin E. Wilks, Provost and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs believed that “at BMCC, we have worked overtime to create a culture of care by taking responsibility for the whole student, for all the factors that affect student success.” (2018). Data from the report showed that “71 percent of its students come from families earning less than $30,000 a year, many below the poverty line (BMCC, 2018). In the same report, a survey was done which showed that out of 33,000 community college students, 56 percent reported food insecurity, or not having access to a reliable source of nutritional, affordable food (BMCC, 2018). Leading by example the Student Affair and Single Stop addressed the issue of food insecurity at BMCC by “providing cafeteria food vouchers and

Food insecurity remains to be a current problem that is defined as the limited access to food due to low income. In 2012, approximately one million Canadian households were classified as food insecure. Certain groups such as, Aboriginals and single mothers, are at higher risk for food insecurity compared to other groups.

As the world is becoming more industrialized, processed foods are becoming cheaper and easier to purchase. This shift in natural food availability is becoming a growing health concern for people around the world; however, Canadian aboriginal communities are feeling greater negative effects of food insecurity (FI). When people in a community do not have “physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life”, they are considered food insecure (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 1998). While FI affects the health of all Canadians, the Aboriginal Peoples have been reported to have consistently lower health than other Canadians due to the extreme

According to the United Nations, food security is defined as “all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life” (“Rome Declaration,” 1996). Canada has adopted this definition, although they monitor food insecurity per each household and analyze financial barriers causing the situation. Research has shown that 62.2% of households

The Impact of Food Insecurity on Northern Canadian Populations Food insecurity is a serious issue that has been affecting the lives of Indigenous populations in Canada’s northern territories for many years. Food insecurity is defined as “uncertainty in consistently accessing nutritious food in socially acceptable ways” (Berowitz & Fabreau, 2015, p. 1031) and has been identified by the Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) as a social determinant of health. Social determinants of health are socio-economic factors that that can have a positive and/or negative affect on an individual’s health (CAN, 2005).

standards of living among all the developed nations, and despite being voted numerous times in recent years by the United Nations as the best country in the world in which to live, experts agree that poverty is prevalent in Canada today. Unfortunately, that is more or less where the agreement ends. Exactly how prevalent and how serious a problem poverty is in Canada is an open question that has been hotly debated for the last 10 years.

Did you know in 2014, 48.1 million households in the United States were food insecure? (Feeding America, 2016) Additionally, household with children reported higher rates of food insecurity compared to households without children. According to new research, a great proportion of college students are suffering from food insecurity (Hughes et al., 2011; Patton-Lopez et al., 2014). According to the United States Department of Agriculture, food insecurity is defined by “the state of being without reliable access to sufficient quantity of affordable nutritious food” (2015). Since 2006, the USDA introduced new terms to categorize food insecurity ranges. Marginal food security is described as “anxiety over food sufficiency or shortage of food in the house. Little or no change in diet” (Gaines et al., n.d.). Low food security “reduced quality, variety, or desirability of diet without reduced food intake. Very low food security “disrupted eating patterns and reduced food intake.”

Even though payments from Social Security and Supplemental Security Income have played a critical part in an attempt to increase economic security among older adults, poverty still remains on the rise for this population. Many still live on limited incomes and have the modest savings. In 2013, 50% of people in Medicare possessed incomes of less than $23,000 which corresponds to 200% of poverty in 2015 (Cubanski et. al, 2015). Today, over 25 million people ages 60 or more are economically insecure living at or below 250% of the federal poverty level (FPL) (National Council on Aging, 2016). As a result, these individuals struggle with increasing housing and health care bills, lack of nutrition, inadequate access to transportation, and job

Food insecurity, a term coined by the United State Department of Agriculture in 2006, as inadequate, limited, or uncertain access to nutritious food. The term is a replacement for what the USDA prior to 2006, described as "food insecure with hunger" and characterized households in which one or more people were hungry at times during the year because they could not afford enough food.

According to the Household Food Security in the US in 2013, some people experience food insecurity. Food insecurity is the access to adequate food is limited by money or other resources. Obesity is one of the top health problem in America and this is due to eating habits. Junk food is what people can afford. While eating junk food people are consuming more calories. According to the article “Fast Food Linked to Child Obesity” by Jaime Holguin about one third of children aged 4 to 19 eat fast food. This will lead to an increase in weight and obesity.

Food insecurity is happening to many countries, very rapidly. Food insecurity is the state of being without reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious, healthy food. My chosen country is the Central African Republic. The Central African Republic (C.A.R.) is a land surrounded by remote land in Central Africa.

Overall, about 60% of Canadians are eating out one or more times per week, and nearly 40% of Canadians eat out at least a few times per week (16). Moreover, approximately 25-30% of Canadians food spending is on food eaten away from home (16). Canadian consumers face barriers to regularly dining out such as the high levels and wide variation in the calories and sodium content of foods, the large portion sizes, and misleading marketing claims on restaurant menus (16). The Nutrition Facts label, provides nutritional information for food products purchased at grocery stores, however, prior to January 1st 2017, nutrition facts such as the calorie content were not easily accessible for consumers dining at Ontario restaurants (1). Currently, Ontario is the only province in Canada to enforce a calorie labeling legislation in food service operations with 20 or more locations (4).

Information are gathered from different resources including as explained above. Heart disease is a significant in the chosen community. Overwhelming amounts of fast-food restaurants in the community can make it difficult for people to seek to a heart-healthy diet. Low economic status makes it even harder to chose healthy food as the price is higher. The citizens of the chosen community are forced to cut back and save as much money as possible as per increased rate of unemployment in Alberta due to recent economic break down. As per Statistic released by government of Canada, Current unemployment rate is 8.4% which is the highest in past twenty-two years (2017). Therefore, many people cannot afford healthy foods and/or do not have the resources or knowledge to eat healthy based on a limited income. Available food banks in the community do not have enough supplies for all the citizens in need. They frequently provide donation bags in high-income communities for collecting supplies and encouraging people in medias for more help.