13 Nov 2008
Nutritious food is an important ingredient for healthy growth and development and for maintaining good health at every age and stage of life, but not everyone can afford the food they need. This usually isn’t because food prices are too high, but more often because people on fixed incomes can’t afford a basic healthy diet for themselves and their families once they have paid for housing.
Poverty, access to healthy foods and health are closely linked. People living in poverty have less money to spend on food and buy more foods that are higher in calories, fats, sugars and processed grains, which tend to be more affordable. Families on low incomes also tend to eat fewer nutrient-rich foods such as vegetables, fruit and milk products than higher income families.
People with low incomes are also more likely to report poor health and multiple chronic conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure. Young children in low income families suffer from stomach upsets and headaches and make more visits to the hospital than do children from higher income families.
Every year the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit conducts a Nutritious Food Basket (NFB) survey of food prices in grocery stores across Simcoe Muskoka. Results are used to find out the affordability of a nutritious diet based on local food and housing costs.
This year’s survey for Simcoe Muskoka shows that many people with income from social assistance, a pension or minimum wage employment can’t afford a basic healthy diet for themselves and their families. A family of four on Ontario Works, for example, would need to spend up to 91 per cent of their income for food and rent alone. A single man would need up to 108 per cent of his Ontario Works income just to cover his rent.
But having a job does not necessarily mean that food as well as other basic needs can be met. In a family of four living in Simcoe Muskoka and with one person working full time at minimum wage ($8.75 per hour), up to 75 per cent of family income is needed just for food and rent.
None of these scenarios consider the cost of other basics such as telephone, transportation, clothing and personal care items. Unlike rent and other fixed costs, money set aside for food can easily end up spent on other pressing items like bus fares, winter boots and medications.
Food and budgeting skills are important for everyone, but can do little to narrow the enormous income/expense gap for Simcoe Muskoka residents with limited incomes. Poverty reduction is at the heart of the solution.
Social assistance rates and wages that keep pace with inflation and based on the actual cost of living can have an instant and positive impact on the health and well-being of vulnerable people, especially when combined with community supports such as affordable housing, child care and public transportation.
Some work is underway to help achieve these goals. The provincial government is working on a poverty reduction strategy for Ontario, with implementation originally planned for the end of this year. For more information, check www.simcoemuskokahealth.org or call Your Health Connection at 721-7520 or 1-877-721-7520 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday.
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