Food Security is a Major Issue

Several of us from Family Matters attended a food security forum in Greenwich last week. It was an interesting two days, filled with many perspectives on food.

According to the World Health Organization, food security is when all people at all times have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life. The discussions at the forum centred on different agendas and points of view. Some of us were focused on the affordability of nutritious foods. Others were focused on buying local and/or organic foods. Some wanted policy changes, while others were unsure of what policy reform could do for those at the grass roots level.

One valuable piece of information that came out of the forum was that changing behaviours are based on experience, particularly in childhood. For example, if you want people to buy more fruits and vegetables, it will help if they experience the farming environment. That is where organizations like Family Matters come in. We can have field trips to local farms or community gardens so children become aware of the origins of their food. We can show children that fruit and vegetables are not necessarily perfect looking, but they are still fine to eat and they taste great.

There were also community members at the food security forum who shared their experiences in trying to access nutritious food for their families on a very tight budget. It was wonderful to hear their perspectives on an issue that affects many in our community. According to the Food Costing Report from 2007, people who are working for minimum wage or are on income assistance are unable to feed their families according to the Canada’s Food Guide.

No matter what your perspective or reason for being interested in food security, this forum offered a wonderful opportunity to begin some very useful and necessary conversations!

Morgan