Strategy needed to counter poverty, says region’s top doc
Food insecurity is a public health issue.
Dr. Natalie Bocking, the medical officer of health at the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit, said food insecurity is defined as not having enough money to buy food.
But living in a food insecure household increases risks to people’s mental health, infections, and chronic diseases. And that’s a public health issue, she said.
“Food banks and charities are not a solution to this issue,” Bocking said. “They help to mitigate the challenges, the problems for families impacted by it, but they’re not the solution.”
As many as 12.9 per cent of households in Haliburton County, 10.2 per cent of households in Kawartha Lakes, and 8.7 per cent of households in Northumberland County are considered low income and struggled to pay for rent, bills, and healthy food.
In the HKPR district area, 39.8 per cent of tenant-households spent more than 30 per cent of their income on housing.
Food costs and housing costs have increased and, despite some modest increases to some social programs, there’s been little respite.
What’s needed are systemic and income-related strategies that are long-term poverty reduction measures, she said. That includes adequate incomes to ensure at least a sufficient minimum standard of living, improved employment standards, increased social assistance rates, and providing a basic income guarantee.
It’s a persistent problem.
“The food insecurity rate really has not changed since last year,” Bocking said.
To that end, the health unit released its 2023 Nutritious Food Basket Report entitled Addressing Food Insecurity and Poverty in the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District area.
The report highlights the struggles faced by low-income families in Haliburton County, Kawartha Lakes, and Northumberland County to pay for such necessities as housing and food. Incomes and social assistance rates are not keeping up with rising costs.
Within the Nutritious Food Basket Report, public health officials compared the incomes and expenses of several household scenarios to show how much money would be left over for families and individuals after paying for housing and food.
In some scenarios, those expenses alone exceed income, leaving not enough money to pay for other basic needs like utilities, phone, internet, and medications.
“When families don’t make enough money to buy food, they are food insecure,” said Sarah Tsang, a registered dietitian and health equity coordinator. “These families are forced to make hard decisions like if they will buy healthy foods or pay for other basics like rent and utilities.”
Public health officials estimate a family of four would have spent on average
$1,184 per month towards eating healthy in 2023. That means, if the family earns minimum wage, they would have spent 28 per cent of their income on food that meets Canada’s Food Guide.
After paying for rent, that would leave them with merely a few hundred dollars to pay for other basic living expenses.
“Food insecurity is a serious social and public health problem,” Tsang said. “In order to address food insecurity, we need income-based solutions that are long term and that focus on poverty reduction such as adequate incomes, improving employment standards, increasing social assistance rates, and providing basic income guarantee.”
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James Matthews, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Haliburton County Echo
