Household food insecurity (HFI) deeply concerning and serious public health problem. More than 4.4 million Canadians, including over 1.7 million Ontarians are affected by this. HFI is inadequate or insecure access to food due to household financial constraints. Individuals and families struggling to put food on the table also struggle to afford other basic needs. HFI is a sign of poverty and at its root is the lack of adequate and stable incomes for Canadians to make ends meet.
We have gathered statistics and put together a letter for public use. Below are letters addressed to MP and MPPs from the Niagara Region. Please choose your representative, sign your name and city and email or mail it to the address provided. As elected representatives, we urge them to to stand behind effective income policy solutions that will successfully reduce food insecurity.
MP Vance Badawey Niagara Centre
MP Dean Allison Niagara West
MP Tony Baldinelli Niagara Falls
MP Chris Bittle St. Catharines
MPP Jeff Burch Niagara Centre
MPP Wayne Gates Niagara Falls
MPP Sam Oosterhoff Niagara West
MPP Jennifer Stevens St. Catharines
Blank address to send to the elected representative of your choice
Local Food Resources
References used to create this letter:
Food Insecurity Policy Research (PROOF). Household Food Insecurity in Canada. https://proof.utoronto.ca/food-insecurity/
Food Insecurity Policy Research (PROOF). Provincial Policy Levers to Reduce Household Food Insecurity, May 2021. Available at: https://proof.utoronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/PROOF_FACTSHEET_Provincial-policies-052021.pdf
Ontario Dietitian in Public Health. (2020). Position Statement and Recommendations on Responses to Food Insecurity. Available at: https://www.odph.ca/odph-position-statement-on-responses-to-food-insecurity-1
Tarasuk, V, Mitchell, A. (2020). Household food insecurity in Canada, 2017-18 [Report online]. Toronto, ON: Research to identify policy options to reduce food insecurity (PROOF). Available at: https://proof.utoronto.ca/resources/proof-annual-reports/
Tarasuk, V. (2017). Implications of a Basic Income Guarantee for Household Food Insecurity. Research Paper 24. Thunder Bay: Northern Policy Institute. Available at:https://proof.utoronto.ca/resource/implications-of-a-basic-income-guarantee-for-household-food-insecurity/
Reasonable Living Wage increase letter