Many affected by B.C.'s floods turned to charity for help. But thousands of kids still do this daily

This story is part of Amy Bell's Parental Guidance column, which airs on CBC Radio One's The Early Edition.

In the aftermath of this month's flooding in southwest B.C., food banks and social systems have been overwhelmed by people who had no access to food or shelter. Many produce crops have been destroyed, further compromising the supply chain and threatening higher prices.

But such food insecurity is a daily reality for thousands of children in the province.

According to the 2021 poverty report card put together by child and youth advocacy group First Call, there are 156,560 children and youth living in poor households in B.C., with many living in deep poverty. 

First Call executive director Adrienne Montani says low-income families struggle with poverty and food insecurity at the best of times.

"Nobody feels great when they are really hungry," says Montani. "When basic needs are not met — and that would be healthy food — both kids and parents suffer, and their relationship can suffer too." 

Montani stressed how closely the housing crisis and hunger are related and how we are failing families on these basic levels.

"Wages and benefits have not kept up with the cost of housing, and that's one reason why they experience food insecurity. We need to make sure the income they have can cover food, and if their income is insufficient, we need to bring costs down and bring income up, whether it's through social benefits or wages," she said. 

Childhood poverty can have far-reaching effects

Don Armstrong, director of the food bank at Chilliwack's Salvation Army, says in just the past year alone the need has "been skyrocketing" and they've been helping feed more than 300 people per day.

While they want to make sure no one goes hungry, children are prioritized.

"We make soup for 800 children every day and we give hampers out to all the schools, roughly 200 every week to all the families that are in need," says Armstrong.

Children who grow up in poverty have been shown to have more physical and mental health issues as adults. Hunger and lack of healthy food can contribute to chronic issues such as heart disease, dental problems and diabetes.

But while child poverty is prevalent, it still goes largely unnoticed. 

Sheila Paul is a successful and financially secure adult, but she grew up in poverty in the Okanagan during the 1970s. Despite that, Paul says she and her siblings didn't look like the "poor" stereotype so many people imagine.

She is still frustrated that people will overlook poverty unless it's obvious to them.

"Do we have to look like a cartoon hobo in order for people to believe this is happening in our very wealthy society?" Paul wonders. "It's extra demeaning that we have to perform poverty in order to draw attention to a problem."

Everyone should have access to food — no matter what 

As climate change increases the likelihood of catastrophic events, experts say we need to rethink our approach to growing and distributing food.

Our current system can be thrown off balance very quickly, says Tammara Soma, research director of Simon Fraser University's Food Systems Lab, which works on ways to reduce food waste and supports equitable and sustainable food systems. And when that balance is thrown off, it's those in need who feel the consequences first.

Soma is particularly concerned that food charities rely on surplus food, saying it puts our most vulnerable in an unfair position. If that surplus diminishes or disappears or demand increases, people can suffer.

"Even before the pandemic, even before the natural disasters, we were already in a vulnerable and precarious state. The low-income community relies on charities, and charities are relying on donations and food surplus," says Somas.

It's shameful that so many families have so little, and as a society we've let them down time and time again. Yes, the pandemic and the flooding have amplified the problem, but they existed long before COVID-19 arrived and the Coquihalla Highway was washed out.

CBC's Food Bank day is coming up on Dec. 3 and I know people will be overwhelmingly generous, just like they always are. But I hope that generosity and willingness to help goes far beyond that one day. 

Affordable shelter and food are a basic need and a basic right and the lack of that for so many children will continue to affect them long after they've grown — and that should affect everyone in a position to help right now.