Hamiltonians more worried about food than most Canadians

Sometimes Diane can't even scrape together the two-dollar bus fare to get from her Upper Ottawa Street home to a grocery store.

When the single mother of two moved to Hamilton from Toronto in December, she came empty-handed — and for the first time in her life had to visit a food bank to feed her family.

"You have to eat. Food is the stuff of life," says Diane, who asked that her real name be protected due to the stigma of her situation.

Newly available figures show that Hamiltonians are more likely to find themselves in a similar situation of so-called food insecurity than Ontarians or Canadians at large.

The academic term food insecurity refers to someone who has limited or uncertain access to healthy food.

"How far do I have to go for food, how much money do I have to pay for food, and do I have the right resources to prepare it properly" are all factors in food insecurity, says Sara Mayo, social planner for Social Planning and Research Council of Hamilton.

Statistics obtained by the Social Planning and Research Council of Hamilton from a 2007-2008 Statistics Canada report show that 8.3 per cent of Hamiltonians surveyed said they are "food insecure."

That translates to an estimated 35,000 residents. 

By comparison, about 7.7 per cent of Ontarians surveyed say they are food insecure, while the figure drops to 7.1 per cent for the average Canadian.

Mayo says she's not surprised by the numbers, since it's often related to poverty. The problem is largely due to income and economy, issues that can't be dealt with locally, noted Mayo. "But we can only start at the local."

Figures from Neighbour to Neighbour, a multi-purpose centre in the Mountain helping families in need and the location where Diane picks up her food, suggest the number of Hamiltonians not getting enough healthy food may be even higher today.

The centre's food bank has seen a 25 per cent spike in recent months in the number of people using its food banks compared to this time last year.

The centre's currently feeding 1,275 families a month, compared to last year's 1,000.

"We're increasing our numbers every year, but the 25 per cent is quite a spike for us," says Denise Arkell, executive director of Neighbour to Neighbour Centre.

Plans for more fresh produce

Part of the problem with food banks is often not enough fresh produce is available. But Diane says nutrition isn't her primary concern.

"Healthy food? No, I don't really expect it," she says. "The good thing is there's help when you need it. I appreciate whatever they have to give."

'The situation I was in: I needed the help badly.' —Diane

But while Neighbour to Neighbour is busy feeding hundreds of extra hungry mouths — it's also plotting ways to get more fresh produce on needy tables.

Last year marked its first attempt in recent history to grow its own food — opening eight gardens throughout the Mountain.

More than 30,000 pounds of fresh produce were plucked from just a portion of the community plots they monitored — a figure they're hoping to surpass this year. The centre has set its eyes on five new plots.

Arkell says it's not only important to get fresh produce to low-income families, but also to teach them the skills to grow their own vegetables. With farms losing ground in the area and people losing skills such as cooking and gardening, "we're all going to be food insecure before long," she sighs.

As for Diane, who is currently completing her Grade 12, she doesn't expect to be cashing in on the harvest season. By summertime, she hopes to be back on track, getting a job so she can feed her three-year-old daughter and nine-year-old son.

"The situation I was in: I needed the help badly," says Diane, "[But] this is not me. This is not how I intend to live my life, shopping in food banks."