Question Period Note: FOOD INSECURITY

Food Insecurity and Mandate Letter Commitment on the creation of a national school nutritious meal program / CTV News published an article on food insecurity in Canada which states that one in three children risk going to school hungry (Food Insecurity in Canada : 1 in 3 children risks going to school without breakfast )

• Supporting families and ensuring that every child gets the best possible start in life are priorities for the Government of Canada.

• The Government of Canada recognizes that poverty and food insecurity are intricately linked. To this effect, the Government has made significant investments, through targeted social programs and income supplements, such as the Canada Child Benefit, to reduce poverty and food insecurity and increase well-being. Between 2015 and 2019, over 1.3 million Canadians were lifted out of poverty.

• The Government is also committed to continue strengthening Canada’s food system. This includes developing a National School Food Policy and working towards a national school nutritious meal program.

• This priority was highlighted in the Prime Minister’s December 16, 2021 mandate letters to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, and the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development.

• Both ministers will work together and with provinces, territories, municipalities, Indigenous partners and stakeholders, to develop the policy and support the creation of a national school nutritious meal program.

• Early action has included engagement with stakeholders and experts by government officials and by the School Nutrition Working Group of the Canadian Food Policy Advisory Council.

CTV Article
• On Monday February 14, CTV News published an article titled “Food Insecurity in Canada: 1 in 3 children risks going to school hungry”. This article is part of a four-part series titled ‘A Healthy Start’ and is sponsored by Breakfast Club of Canada.
• The article notes that prior to the pandemic, one in four children were at risk of going to school hungry, however that number has now risen to one in three. This means that nearly two million children are not at risk of going to school hungry, for a variety of reasons including disruptions to food support systems and the rising cost of food.
• According to Canada’s Food Price Report food costs are projected to further increase by five to seven percent in 2022. For an average family of four, the article notes this increase could increase their annual grocery bill by approximately $1000.
• The Breakfast Club of Canada notes that a national school food program would be the most effective and sustainable way to ensure daily access to nutritious food for all children across the country.
• The article notes that the Government invested in school food programming for the first time through the Emergency Food Security Fund and encourages student nutrition stakeholders to build on the momentum and work towards permanent funding and sustainable solutions towards school food.
Food Policy for Canada
• Budget 2019 announced over $134 million in initial investments to support a Food Policy for Canada. Led by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), the policy is meant to ensure that all Canadians “are able to access a sufficient amount of safe, nutritious, and culturally diverse food [and that] Canada’s food system is resilient and innovative, sustains our environment and supports our economy.” The Food Policy for Canada aligns with the objectives of initiatives across the federal government, such as the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, the Heathy Eating Strategy, and the Poverty Reduction Strategy, among others.

• The announcement of the Food Policy included a federal commitment to “engage with provinces, territories, and key stakeholder groups to work toward the creation of a National School Food Program.”

• As part of the implementation of the Food Policy, AAFC announced the Local Food Infrastructure Fund, a five-year, $50 million initiative, ending March 31, 2024, which aims to “strengthen food systems and to facilitate access to safe and nutritious food for at-risk populations.” School Food
• The announcement of the Canadian Food Policy in Budget 2019 included a commitment by the Government to “engage with provinces, territories, and key stakeholder groups to work toward the creation of a National School Food Program.”
School Food

• School food programming, with the exception of First Nations on-reserve, falls under provincial/territorial jurisdiction.

• Provincial/territorial governments, local authorities, volunteers and third parties fund and deliver some existing school food programming. However, there is an uneven patchwork of programming across the country, reaching roughly a quarter of school-age children; the needs of many children are not adequately met.

• Stakeholders and experts have called for the introduction of a national school food program in Canada. The main goals would be to reduce child hunger, promote child nutrition and healthy eating habits, improve educational outcomes, and help contain costs of treating nutrition-related chronic diseases.

• Stakeholders and experts generally favour models that are cost-shared by federal and PT governments, universally available rather than targeted, focused on nutritious meals, designed to contain possible conflicts of interest, and free at point of participation.
• Following an announcement about school food in Budget 2019, ESDC consulted on school food with PTs and stakeholders. As a part of this process, provinces and territories provided information on existing programming.
• The December 2021 mandate letters of the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development and the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food included the commitment to work with provinces, territories, municipalities, Indigenous partners and stakeholders to develop a National School Food Policy and to work toward a national school nutritious meal program.

• Accordingly, to deliver on the mandate letter commitment, AAFC and ESDC have begun working together to implement this commitment. We have started to informally consult with stakeholders and experts, and plan to engage with provincial and territorial governments as well as Indigenous partners.

• The Canadian Food Policy Advisory Council includes a School Nutrition Working Group to advise on potential design principles of school food policies and initiatives. The Working Group has engaged key players, including The Coalition for Healthy School Food (CHSF), Breakfast Club of Canada (BCC), and Farm to Cafeteria Canada, to bring diverse views on school food programming together and is providing advice to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food.

• Because of the jurisdiction and existing activities of provincial/territorial governments, the federal government recognizes the importance of engagement with them.

• It is anticipated that school food programming for Indigenous children will be co-developed with appropriate Indigenous representatives and may follow a number of separate processes.
Food Insecurity

• Food insecurity has been defined by the Government of Canada as “the inability to acquire or consume an adequate diet quality or sufficient quantity of food in socially acceptable ways, or the uncertainty that one will be able to do so. Household food insecurity is often linked with the household’s financial ability to access adequate food.”

• Previously, estimates of food insecurity and unmet health needs were published using data from the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS). Going forward, food insecurity and unmet health needs will available annually using data from the Canadian Income Survey (CIS), which was recently updated to include questions on food security.

• Food insecurity estimates are based on 18 questions asked to CIS respondents as part of the Household Food Security Survey Module. Through these questions, respondents self-report on food insecurity situations resulting from limited financial resources.

• The overall rate of food insecurity reported in the CIS was 10.6% in 2019, down from 11.5% in 2018. This national rate does not include the population living in the territories (territorial rates are reported separately).

• Based on a household’s experience, food insecurity can be categorized into 3 categories:
o Marginal food insecurity: captures worry about running out of food and/or limited food selection due to a lack of money for food.
o Moderate food insecurity: captures compromises in the quality and/or quantity of food due to a lack of money for food.
o Severe food insecurity: captures missed meals, reduced food intake and, at the most extreme, go day(s) without food.

Poverty Reduction Strategy
• In 2018, Canada introduced Opportunity for All – Canada’s First Poverty Reduction Strategy, which established an official measure of income poverty (Canada’s Official Poverty Line), set concrete poverty reduction targets and aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of ending poverty.

• Canada’s Official Poverty Line is being used to measure progress toward two targets, using a baseline year of 2015: reduce the rate of poverty by 20% by 2020; and reduce the rate of poverty by 50% by 2030. Results from the 2019 Canadian Income Survey, released in March 2021, show that the government is making meaningful progress towards these targets. According to the Canadian Income Survey, the poverty rate decreased by 30% from 2015 to 2019, meaning that Canada has met its interim target.

• The Strategy recognizes that poverty and food insecurity are linked. Food insecurity is an indicator on the poverty reduction strategy’s dimensions of poverty hub under the “dignity” pillar.

• Canada offers a number of robust and targeted social programs and income supplements. These include the Canada Child Benefit, which provides substantial income support to families raising children. From July 2019 to June 2020, the Canada Child Benefit helped approximately 3.9 million families and 6.9 million children, putting over $26 billion, tax-free, in the hands of Canadian families. For Canadian seniors, the Old Age Security (OAS) program plays a significant role in providing income security. OAS recipients who receive little to no income, other than this pension, are eligible for additional assistance through the Guaranteed Income Supplement. These programs provide cash supports to many Canadians, enabling them to decide how to spend their money, reduce their financial burdens, and improve their access to essentials, including food.
Canada’s Official Poverty Line and Food Prices
• Canada’s Official Poverty Line is based on the Market Basket Measure (MBM), an existing measure of low income developed in Canada. The MBM establishes income thresholds based upon the cost of a basket of food, clothing, shelter, transportation, and other items for individuals and families representing a modest, basic standard of living, across 53 regions in Canada. If a person’s or family’s disposable income is below the threshold for the region in which they live in a given year, they are considered to be living poverty.

• The MBM uses the 2019 National Nutritious Food Basket (NNFB), developed by Heath Canada, to calculate the cost of the food component. The NNFB is a survey tool used by various levels of government and other stakeholders to monitor the cost and affordability of healthy eating. Food prices are collected by Statistics Canada in 38 cities across Canada and updated annually using the provincial Consumer Price Index for food.

• Food prices have increased significantly in 2021, and are expected to continue to rise into 2022, according to the annual Canada’s Food Price Report. Annual updates to food prices in the MBM’s food basket means that it is responsive to changing food prices. As such, the rising cost of food will be reflected in Canada’s poverty rates.

• As food prices increase, poverty thresholds are likely to follow. This could impact poverty rates in Canada in the coming years.

COVID-19
• In response to COVID-19, the Government implemented a number of temporary measures to support Canadians through this difficult time, including various income security programs for eligible workers and the self-employed who lost income due to COVID-19 (Canada Emergency Response Benefit, Canada Recovery Benefit, Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit), wage subsidy programs to maintain employment, temporary enhancements to the EI program, and programs related to food security.

• The Government of Canada allocated $30 million under AAFC’s Local Food Infrastructure Fund Emergency Funding Stream to address service gaps and to partner with organizations who support people experiencing food insecurity.

• The Government made funding available to food banks and local food organizations to meet the urgent and increased food needs of people facing food insecurity. Food Banks Canada received a total of $50 million, and four other major networks shared an additional $20 million including Second Harvest, Community Food Centres Canada, the Breakfast Club and the Salvation Army.

• Further, Budget 2021 committed to providing $400 million in 2021-22 to create a temporary Community Services Recovery Fund to help charities and non-profits adapt and modernize so they can better support the economic recovery in our communities. This will include organizations that address food insecurity and support access to food.

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