Huron Perth Public Health has Released a new Report on The Real Cost of Eating in Huron and Perth
by Bob Montgomery
Huron Perth Public Health has released a new report on The Real Cost of Eating in Huron and Perth. And for some people it's pretty pricey.
HPPH Registered Dietitian Amy MacDonald says food insecurity in Canada is defined as insecure or inadequate access to food because of financial constraints. She says about 18% of households in Southwestern Ontario experienced household food insecurity in 2022, and that was an increase from the previous year. MacDonald says food insecurity covers a range of situations from marginal insecurity, where people are worried about running out of food, or have limited food selection due to lack of money, moderate food insecurity is where there's a compromise in either the quality or the quantity of food, and then severe food insecurity, where people are actually missing meals or the extreme where people are going without food for one or more days.
MacDonald says too many families living with low income have to choose between paying rent and utilities or buying food because there simply isn’t enough money. Food is often at the bottom of the list because food is a flexible expense and the others are fixed expenses. She says besides being extremely distressing, food insecurity can also have a very detrimental impact on health. People with disabilities are often disproportionately impacted by food insecurity. MacDonald says research has shown that household food insecurity can be reduced by a number of policy interventions:
Adequate old-age pensions
Fully funded Canada Working-Age Supplement (CWAS)
Fully funded Canada Disability Benefit (CDB)
Lower income taxes for the lowest income households
Income protection for precarious employment and low wages
Implementation of a Basic Income Guarantee
Increased minimum wage
Increased social assistance rates
Investments in subsidized, affordable and stable housing
Strategies to increase affordable housing, childcare and public transit
Living Wage employers
MacDonald urges people to visit or call 211 Ontario to learn about the resources available to help families living with low income so that they have more money available to purchase the food they need.
More information can be found at the Huron Perth Public Health website.
