Food insecurity in Chatham-Kent has not improved over the past year.
According to the most recent data, 22.3 per cent of households in Chatham-Kent are food insecure, meaning they either worried about running out of food and/or had limited food selection, compromised the quality and/or quantity of food, missed meals, ate smaller portions, or at the extreme end, went a day or more without food, all due to a lack of money to buy food.
Chatham-Kent Public Health (CKPH) has again surveyed grocery stores to monitor the affordability of food.
A report by CKPH Nutritionist Sharmini Balakrishnan showed a higher prevalence of food insecurity in low-income households, single parent female-led households with children, households with employment insurance or social assistance as the main source of income, those living in rental housing, and racialized households.
The report also showed approximately 3.65 million Ontarians live in a food insecure household and 18.7 per cent of individuals are food insecure.
The data also showed that one in three children in Ontario live in a food-insecure household.
"With almost 70 per cent of households whose main source of income came from social assistance being food insecure, this shows that current social assistance rates are inadequate for tackling food insecurity," wrote Balakrishnan. "Being employed does not protect against the experience of food insecurity. It instead shows the nature of precarious and low-paying jobs, and multi-person households with a single income-earner."
Food insecurity severely impacts mental and physical health and well-being, according to CKPH.
"People living in food insecure households are more likely to experience chronic conditions, and infectious and non-communicable diseases, which are challenging to manage when experiencing food insecurity. This results in greater healthcare use, increased rates of hospitalization, and a higher risk of premature death," Balakrishnan said.
CKPH said the cost of feeding a family of four in Chatham-Kent last year was approximately $1,147/month, or $265/week, and families and individuals living on low incomes in CK have little, if any, money left over to cover other monthly expenses after paying for food and rent.
CKPH officials said incomes dependent on social assistance are not adequate for CK residents to afford basic needs, adding current Ontario Disability Support Program rates are not based on the costs of living and remain insufficient to support basic needs. Ontario Works rates have not increased since 2018.
The local health unit is asking the provincial government for a basic income guarantee for all over the age of 17 in Ontario, adding that food-based programs are not an effective long-term solution to food insecurity because they do not address the root cause.
