Food Insecurity In Canada

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.

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.

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.”

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,

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

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.

Food insecurity affects more than 48 million Americans every year (McMillan). Those who reside in food insecure homes can generally not afford healthy foods, therefore increasing the incidence of obesity and other resultant chronic disorders. According to The American Journal of Public Health, “Food insecurity has been shown to diminish dietary quality and affect nutritional intake and has been associated with chronic morbidity (e.g., type 2 diabetes, hypertension) and weight gain” (Nguyen, Shuval, Bertmann, & Yaroch, 2015, p. 1453). Those who live without adequate access to nutritional food, such as fresh fruits and vegetables, have higher rates of obesity not because of the amount of food they eat, but the poor nutritional value of affordable meals.

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

Food insecurity is defined as when an individual has inconsistent and inadequate access to a sufficient amount of nutritious food preventing him or her from maintaining a healthy lifestyle. It is typically associated with limited financial  It is sometimes classified as a public health concern and is currently a growing issue as the number of individuals suffering from food insecurity is increasing according to Statistics Canada.   Food insecurity has its greatest impact on the individual itself and an impact on the Government of Ontario and mayors of the cities within Ontario.  It is an important issue as it can more issues to branch out from it  such as famine (long term hunger), increased health care costs and more. Thus, food insecurity has many impacts on the person itself and it can cause more issues to build upon this one issue.

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, 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.

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.

Food insecurities have a huge factor in a person’s health and well-being. It can act as a barrier to optimal levels of health. Food insecurities are present in the United States due to the unequal access that is present in the country. Whether there is a lack of healthy food that is accessible to that community or the healthy food that is available is not affordable. Many of the foods that are beneficial for people are not always the most affordable. It can turn into a vicious cycle of wanting to provide the healthiest food possible for the household, which can lead to spending more money, and can ultimately result in the inability to provide any type of healthy foods for the household. As a result, the existence of food insecurities leads

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.