Household Food Insecurity in Eastern Ontario

Household Food Insecurity in Eastern Ontario
Impacts
Monitoring Food Affordability
Case Scenarios
Effective Solutions
What is the EOHU Doing?
What Can You Do?
References

Household Food Insecurity in Eastern Ontario

Household food insecurity (HFI) is the inadequate quality, insecure access, limited amounts and/or no food because of financial limitations.1

Food insecurity is a serious and worsening yet preventable public health problem at the local, regional, and provincial levels.1 The Canadian Incomes Survey (CIS) data, for the Eastern Ontario Health Unit (EOHU) area states that:

  • 1 in 5 households (19.1%) experienced a level of HFI at least once in the past 12 months2, and
  • 16.1% of children are living in food insecurity.3

Impacts

Not being able to afford nutritious foods negatively impacts the health of individuals, families, and communities. Children living in food insecure households are more likely to have been diagnosed with hyperactivity or attention deficit disorder and adults are at greater risk of poor mental health.4, 5

Monitoring Food Affordability

Each year, the EOHU monitors food affordability using the Nutritious Food Basket (NFB) survey tool. The NFB survey tool allows the monitoring of food affordability. Details about the NFB:

  • Sixty-one items are part of the assessment.
  • The lowest priced of eight regional grocery stores is chosen.
  • All items surveyed meet Canada’s Food Guide recommendations.
  • People are presumed to have the time, skills, and equipment to cook these food items.
  • It does not include prepared convenience foods or household non-food items.
  • Consistent case scenarios (outlined below) compare food costs.

Case Scenarios

Single (1 person) supported by social assistance

Social assistance programs do not provide enough income for households to meet basic needs, including purchasing food, making them highly likely to experience food insecurity. They struggle to set aside funds for unexpected expenses because they cannot afford necessities like rent and food.

  • 53% of households in Ontario relying on social assistance are food insecure.1
  • The Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) allots more per month, but it’s still not enough to cover basic needs.
1 person
Social assistance6
OW ODSP Pregnant, ODSP
Income $885 $1469 $1509
Rent (1 bedroom) $739 $793 $793
Food $409 $409 $433
Remaining funds $-263 $267 $283

2 to 3 people on social assistance

The type of household can affect the risk of household food insecurity.

  • 41% of female lone-parent households are food insecure.1 
  • Parents, especially mothers, in food insecure households often go without adequate food to make sure their children have enough to eat.7
2 to 3 persons
Social assistance6
Couple, ODSP Single parent, 2 children (over 6), OW Single parent, 2 children (under 6), OW
Income $2609 $2677 $2870
Rent (2 bedroom) $793 $986 $986
Food $679 $877 $689
Remaining funds $1137 $814 $1195

Minimum wage earner

Being employed doesn’t mean you're protected from food insecurity. More people are working low-wage jobs and facing tough choices – like buying food, heating their home, feeding their children, or paying rent. This can lead to debt, stress, health issues, and forces many individuals to work long hours, often at multiple jobs, just to cover basic needs.8

  • 59% of food-insecure households rely on wages, salaries, or self-employment in Ontario.
  • The Ontario Living Wage Network encourages employers to pay a living wage to their employees, which allows employees to meet basic expenses and engage in their community.8
Family of 46 OW Full-time minimum wage earner Median income (after tax)
Income $2916 $4515 $9685
Rent (3 bedroom) $1267 $1267 $1267
Food $1176 $1176 $1176
Remaining funds $473 $2072 $7242

Points to consider:

  • “Safety net” programs, presently in place in Ontario, do not allow households to meet their basic needs.
  • You can’t save money when you can’t pay your rent and afford food.
  • You can’t save money to manage unexpected costs.
  • An increase in the cost of living affects households differently, leaving low-income households unable to meet basic needs.
  • Low-income households have difficulty covering basic expenses like housing, medications, clothing and footwear, utilities, communications, and transportation.1
  • More working people are facing tough choices – paying for food, heating, feeding their children, or paying rent. This leads to debt, stress, and health issues.
  • People are facing long work hours and are often employed at multiple jobs.8

Effective Solutions

Poverty, in its various forms, is the root cause of HFI, making the effective solution an increase in income to ensure there is enough money in the budget for food, rent, and other basic needs.

Effective solutions to address food insecurity include:1,7,9

  • adjusting social assistance rates to reflect the true cost of living
  • reassessing existing income support programs like the child and disability benefits
  • expanding tax filing programs for low-income households to ensure access to eligible government subsidies
  • enhancing employment standards, such as benefits and livable wages
  • enacting a living wage policy8

It’s important to understand that food insecurity is not a budget or food skill issue and cannot be solved through education and food access programs. Many current programs and strategies being implemented present ineffective solutions to household food insecurity:

  • Charitable food programs, such as food banks and ready to eat meal programs, temporarily help to prevent hunger by providing a limited amount of food.1,7,9
  • Food literacy, which is understanding food access, food knowledge, cooking self-efficacy, budgeting, and dietary behaviours. Community gardens, kitchens, and cooking groups may help support aspects of food literacy; however, evidence shows they do not improve household food insecurity.1,7,9
    • Food literacy may help individuals maximize limited resources. However, there is a need to understand that food insecurity itself acts as a barrier to applying food literacy skills consistently in daily life.9

What is the EOHU Doing?

Surveillance and Monitoring

In addition to annually monitoring food affordability, the EOHU also monitors and reports on the provincial, regional and local prevalence and severity of food insecurity, its impact on health, and root causes. The EOHU is also raising awareness and knowledge about the problem, effective solutions, and support for action.

Education, Awareness and Advocacy

The EOHU makes regular updates to its Household Food Insecurity in Eastern Ontario website to inform community members about HFI in our region and invite them to support income-based solutions to reduce HFI. Regular social media messages are posted on our platforms to communicate information about HFI and invite members to take action to reduce HFI.

In addition, the EOHU offers information and training opportunities on the causes and implications of poverty and HFI to all its internal staff and board of health members.

The EOHU has endorsed the Position statement on responses to food insecurity of the Ontario Dietitians in Public Health (ODPH) stating food insecurity is an urgent public health problem and that policies that improve the income of households experiencing vulnerabilities or instability are required to effectively address food insecurity.

Policy and Environmental Change

In 2023, the EOHU became a living wage employer, and is engaged in the Living Wage process in all our communities.

In 2024, the EOHU committed to becoming a culturally safe organization. It will apply the Equity Indicators Framework developed by the Anti-Racist Network of Saskatoon with learning facilitated by the Prairie centre for Racial Justice.

Building Community Capacity

The EOHU collaborates with community partners and people who live in marginalized conditions to determine local priorities and actions to address food insecurity and poverty.

What Can You Do?

Here are more ways for you to address the impacts of household food insecurity:7,10

  • Discuss financial barriers with clients. Provide realistic, achievable and person-centred advice to clients experiencing HFI.
  • Connect people to Free Community Tax Clinics. Filed income tax returns are required to access many tax credits and benefit programs.
  • Learn about financial assistance programs that are available and share the Government of Canada’s Benefits webpage with anyone who may need it.
  • Refer people to 211ontario.ca or 2-1-1 for local community resources.
  • Encourage people to speak to a social services worker, and complete appropriate forms in a timely manner. If they are pregnant, breastfeeding or providing formula, they could qualify for a Special Diet Allowance if they currently receive social assistance.

For more information or to work with the EOHU to help address food insecurity, contact us at info@eohu.ca.

References

  1. Li T, Fafard St-Germain AA, Tarasuk V. (2023) Household food insecurity in Canada. 2022. Toronto: Research to identify policy options to reduce food insecurity (PROOF). Retrieved from https://proof.utoronto.ca/
  2. Public Health Ontario. Technical notes: household food insecurity snapshot. Toronto, ON: King’s Printer for Ontario. Retrieved from: https://www.publichealthontario.ca/en/Data-and-Analysis/Health-Equity/Household-Food-Insecurity
  3. Public Health Ontario. Canadian Health Survey of Children and Youth: Food Insecurity among Children. Toronto. 2023.
  4. PROOF Food Insecurity Policy Research. The Impact of Food Insecurity on Health. 2016. Retrieved from https://proof.utoronto.ca/resource/the-impact-of-food-insecurity-on-health/
  5. PROOF Food Insecurity Policy Research. Food Insecurity and Mental Health. 2016. Retrieved from https://proof.utoronto.ca/resource/food-insecurity-and-mental-health/
  6. Eastern Ontario Health Unit. Ontario Nutritious Food Basket Data Results. 2024.
  7. Dietitians of Canada. Position Statement on Household Food Insecurity in Canada. March 2024. Retrieved from: https://www.dietitians.ca/Advocacy/Priority-Issues-(1)/Position-Statement-on-Household-Food-Insecurity
  8. Ontario Living Wage Network. What is a Living Wage? 2024. Retrieved from: https://www.ontariolivingwage.ca/about
  9. Ontario Dietitians in Public Health. Position Statement and Recommendations on Responses to Food Insecurity. 2020. Retrieved from: https://www.odph.ca/odph-position-statement-on-responses-to-food-insecurity-1
  10. Ontario Dietitians in Public Health. Pediatric Nutrition Guidelines, Birth to Six Years, for Health Professionals. 2024. Retrieved from: https://www.odph.ca/png