It takes more than food to solve hunger

Imagine month after month not having enough money to put food on the table and to pay for rent and other basics like clothing, school supplies, transportation and phone bills. This situation is known as “food insecurity” — not enough money for food. 

 Check out Ontario Dietitians in Public Health's No Money for Food is Cent$less provinicial campaign at www.odph.ca/cent$less

Why should we be concerned?

• 1 in 8 Simcoe Muskoka households are food insecure. Learn more about the cost of healthy eating in Simcoe Muskoka
• People who experience food insecurity have poorer physical and mental health and are less able to participate in their community
• The most food insecure individuals can cost the health care system up to 121% more money
• Only 1 out of 5 food insecure people will visit a food bank locally

What can be done?

To make sure that everyone can afford to feed themselves and their families it is important to:

• Increase social assistance rates to match real living costs, indexed to inflation,
• Support fair workplaces and good jobs with regular hours and benefits,
• Increase minimum wage, and
• Provide a basic income for all Ontarians.

More resources

The resources below are printable, if you have a colour printer. If you would like to receive printed copies of these, please contact us through Health Connection.