Food Banks and Hunger

Les banques alimentaires et la faim

Updated January 21, 2012
Page révisée le 21 janvier 2012

[ Go to Canadian Social Research Links Home Page ]

Go directly to the International Links
section lower down on this page
===> UPDATED JANUARY 21, 2012 <===

Key Food Bank & Hunger Links in Canada:

Food Security Bureau (Govt. of Canada)
- incl. links to:
* Canada's Action Plan for Food Security (1998)
* Canada's Progress Report to the Committee on World Food Security in Implementing the World Food Summit Plan of Action (December 1999)
* Canada's Second Progress Report to the FAO Committee on World Food Security on the implementation of Canada's Action Plan for Food Security in response to the World Food Summit Plan of Action (May 2002)
* Canada's Third Progress Report on Food Security: In Response to the World Food Summit Plan of Action (November 2004)
* Canada's Fourth Progress Report on Food Security: In Response to the World Food Summit Plan of Action (May 2006)
* Canada's Fifth Progress Report on Food Security: In Response to the World Food Summit Plan of Action (2008)
* The Consequences of a Strong Depreciation of the U.S. Dollar on Agricultural Markets (September 2010)

Source:
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

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Food Banks Canada
Food Banks Canada (formerly the Canadian Association of Food Banks) is a national charitable organization representing the food bank community across Canada. Our members and their respective agencies serve approximately 85% of people accessing emergency food programs nationwide. We continue to work to find short term and long term solutions for the nearly 870,000 Canadians who are assisted by a food bank every month.

FreeRice.com
http://freerice.com/
Each correct answer wins a donation of
10 grains of ricethrough the
World Food Programme to help end hunger

---

The Hunger Site
Click on the graphic or text link to donate food

Food statistics
from Statistics Canada
This publication contains information on food available for consumption and food nutrition.

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Household Food Insecurity in Canada

Source:
Health Canada

Links are organized in reverse chronological order on this page, except where they're not...

Toronto Regional Hunger Statistics
Posted December 12, 2011

From Toronto's
Daily Bread Food Bank:

Who's Hungry : Fighting Hunger
2011 Profile of Hunger in the Greater Toronto Area
Greater Toronto Area Hunger Statistics - Google Map
http://www.dailybread.ca/learning-centre/hunger-statistics/
Scroll down the page to "Regional Statistics" and click on a coloured section of the map for statistics for that region of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).
Stats include demographics (age groups, household composition, education, disability), hunger, income, housing, and transportation barriers.
- includes links to previous editions of the Daily Bread's annual Who's Hungry reports and key hunger statistics for the GTA back to 2005.

http://goo.gl/YcNya <=== This link takes you to a full-screen version of the same Google Map as above, with links to the same stats as above for each of six Toronto's regions.

Related links:

Who's Hungry : Fighting Hunger
2011 Profile of Hunger in the Greater Toronto Area (PDF - 1.6MB, 15 pages)
http://www.dailybread.ca/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/WhosHungryReport2011-FINAL.pdf
September 21, 2011
Unlike food, paying the rent every month is non-negotiable. The cost of housing is a key reason people go hungry and have to come to a food bank, regardless of any other circumstances...

Key findings in the 2011 report

Source:
Daily Bread Food Bank
The Daily Bread Food Bank is a non-profit, charitable organization that is fighting to end hunger in our communities. As Canada’s largest food bank, Daily Bread serves people through neighbourhood food banks and meal programs in approximately 170 member agencies.

More links related to the 2011 Who's Hungry report - this link takes you further down on the page you're now reading

From the Look-what-I-found file:

I was poking my way through some links when I stumbled upon this journal site called Esurio.
Even though the content of the two only issues of the journal date back to 2008 and 2009, I felt it was worth sharing with subscribers because there's some excellent information in these articles.

Esurio: Journal of Hunger and Poverty
Esurio is a student refereed academic journal published by the Ontario Association of Food Banks (OAFB) with the proud support of Direct Energy.

Esurio publishes articles on issues of hunger and poverty through a youth lens. The journal features articles written and reviewed by graduate and undergraduate students and is published twice annually.

Vol 1, No 2 (2009)
Table of Contents:
Invited Contributions:
* The Future of Food Charity - By Valerie Tarasuk
* The Crisis of Food Security: Building a Public Food System - By Debbie Field
* What is Poverty? - By Susan Eckerle Curwood, Ph.D.
Student Articles:
* Disrupting the "Traditional Student" Discourse: Poverty, Education, and the State - By Jennifer Ajandi
* Immigrant Settlement and the Use of Food Banks - By Chen Che
* To Feed A City - By Zsuzsi Fodor
* Motivations of Volunteers in a Food Bank Program: A Pilot Investigation - By Vivien E. Runnels
* The Influence of New Public Management on Three Ontario Municipal Governments and its Impact on Poverty Reduction and Social Service Programming - By Zac Spicer
* Canadian Women and Children Hit Hard by the Impacts of Food Insecurity - By Leisha Zamecnik

----------------------

Vol 1, No 1 (2009)
Introductory Issue
Table of Contents:
Welcome from Premier Dalton McGuinty [PDF] and Deb Matthews, Chair of Ontario's Cabinet Committee on Poverty Reduction
Student Articles:
* Struggles, strengths and solutions: Exploring food security with young Aboriginal moms - By Cyndy Ann Baskin et al.
* Energy Poverty as Ideological Poverty in Canada - By Kristen Meredith Forbes Cairney
* Housing as a Human Right: Understanding the Need to Align Toronto's Legal Planning Framework with City Council's Vision to End Homelessness & the Affordable Housing Crisis - By Caroline Cormier
* The Orphaned Child: Homelessness as Social Policy in Ontario - By Greg Mann
* Causes and Consequences of an Unsustainable Food System - By Chryslyn Pais
* Community Responsibility For Social Welfare: A Beneficial or Negative Shift for Communities? - By Meaghan Ross
* Food reclamation as an approach to hunger and waste: A conceptual analysis of the charitable food sector in Toronto, Ontario - By Helen Thang
* Canadian Women and Children Hit Hard by the Impacts of Food Insecurity (Part One) - By Leisha Zamecnik
Invited Contributions:
* Welcome Message & Notes from Richard Florida - By Vass Bednar
* Energy Poverty is Poverty - By Deryk King
* Welcome Message - Judith Maxwell
* Why Food Banks? - By Geoffrey Lougheed
* A Response To: Why Food Banks? - By Robert White and Karyn Cooper
* Welcome Message - Toronto Food Policy Council - By Wayne Roberts
* A Vision for Esurio: Change the World with Words - By Adam Spence

From John Stapleton:

Less on their plates:
Canada's poorest people are facing a frightful food crisis
September 2011
The Welfare Diet of 1995, introduced by then Minister of Social Services Dave Tsubouchi, is a useful tool to measure the changes of the cost of food since 1995. It is not a good diet in its own right. The Toronto Star noted, “Back in 1995, the opposition Liberals scorned the Mike Harris government’s ‘welfare diet,’ which purported to show that a single person on social assistance could eat for $90 a month… That meagre Tory shopping list included pasta but no sauce, and bread but no butter…” The cost of the welfare diet has gone up by 63% since 1995, at the same time as CPI inflation has risen 35%, but the Ontario Works (welfare) single rate has gone up by just 13.7%.
Source:
CCPA Monitor (September 2011 issue)
[ Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) ]

NOTE : If you wish to obtain the original welfare diet and Excel spreadsheet,
please contact John Stapleton at jsbb@rogers.com

Source:
New Writings from John Stapleton
[ OpenPolicyOntario - John Stapleton's website
--- Check out John's Publications - Media Commentaries - Presentations ]

From Food Banks Canada:

Hunger Count 2011 (PDF - 4.2MB, 36 pages)
A comprehensive report on hunger and food bank use in Canada, and recommendations for change

Selected HungerCount Information 1999-2011 (Microsoft Excel 2007 file - 626K)

Chart : Food bank use in Canada (March 2011)
Food Banks Canada has released data detailing how many Canadians used food banks across the country in March 2011. Hover over the chart to read how many people used food banks in each province that month, and what percentage of those people were children.

Provincial HungerCount 2011 Reports
Click this link to access all HungerCount reports for 2011 as well as reports for 2008 to 2010.
NOTE: HungerCount 2011 reports are available for the following provinces only:
* British Columbia * Alberta * Saskatchewan * Manitoba * Ontario * Nova Scotia

Source:
Food Banks Canada
Food Banks Canada is the national charitable organization representing and supporting the food bank community across Canada. Our Members and their respective agencies serve approximately 85% of people accessing food banks and food programs nationwide. Our mission is to help food banks meet the short-term need for food, and to find long-term solutions to hunger.

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Media coverage:

Food bank use stays high
November 1, 2011
Food bank use across Canada remained more than 25 per cent above pre-recession levels in March, the group representing food banks said Tuesday. Food Banks Canada said an annual survey of its members showed a slight decrease in the number of food recipients from the same month a year earlier — two per cent to 851,014 — but little change over all. The steady numbers show the effects of recession are still being felt across Canada, and the organization says that means economic recovery isn't working for everyone.
Source:
CBC News

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Stretched food banks a measure of Canada’s frail recovery
By Tavia Grant
November 1, 2011
The number of Canadians using food banks has declined slightly, but persistent demand indicates many are struggling in a frail economic recovery. More than 851,000 individuals visited a food bank in March alone, a number that’s little changed from last year’s record and still 26 per cent above prerecession levels, Food Banks Canada’s annual survey, to be released Tuesday, shows.

[ 397 comments ]

Related link:

From the
Ontario Association of Food Banks (OAFB)

OAFB's 2011 Election Ontario Priorities
The 2011 Ontario Provincial Election takes place on October 6th, 2011!We need the Ontario government to address the root causes of hunger, and implement long-term sustainable solutions that will end hunger in our province and make food banks unnecessary!
Our top three issues and recommendations
to this year's provincial party candidates:
We respectfully request your party to take action on the following three issues to help make fighting hunger in Ontario a priority:
Issue #1 – Food Bank Donation Tax Credit for Farmers
Issue #2 – Housing Benefit for Low-Income Tenants
Issue #3 – Access to Affordable, Nutritious Food

Source:
Ontario Association of Food Banks
The Ontario Association of Food Banks (OAFB) is a network of over 100 food banks from Windsor to Ottawa, and Thunder Bay to Niagara Falls. Since 1992, we have been committed to reducing hunger across the province

---

- Go to the Food Banks and Hunger Links page:
http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/foodbkmrk.htm

- Go to the Ontario Municipal and Non-Governmental Sites (D-W) page:
http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/onbkmrk3.htm

Ontario

Closing food banks dumb idea
By Glen Pearson
July 30, 2011
The food bank world was suddenly hit with a broadside this week with the Elaine Power's Toronto Globe and Mail article headlined "It's time to close Canada's food banks." Nothing comes closer to irrelevance than her opening statement that food banks represent a serious obstacle in the fight against poverty in Canada. As the London Food Bank's co-director for the last 25 years, and a past chair of the Ontario Association of Food Banks, I have never encountered one food bank director who believed they were ending hunger or that they were the ultimate solution.
Source:
London Free Press

Ontarians need a housing benefit (PDF - 156K, 1 page)
June 15, 2011
Media release
TORONTO – Despite an improving economy, people visiting food banks in the Greater Toronto Area are still struggling. The Hunger Snapshot report, released today, shows that food bank clients spend 72 per cent of their income on housing costs. When families are struggling to make ends meet and have to make a choice between paying the rent and putting food on the table, it is usually food that is sacrificed.

Housing Benefit --- find out more about the proposed Ontario Housing Benefit and how you can help make it a reality.

Hunger Snapshot:
Fighting Hunger (PDF - 1.3MB, 6 pages)
2011 Profile of Hunger in the Greater Toronto Area
June 15, 2011
This snapshot here is just that – some statistical highlights from the 2011 survey to provide you with a brief picture of poverty and hunger in the GTA. This year, we will be releasing the full report on the results of the survey on September 21, 2011 at the launch of Daily Bread’s Fall Drive.
[ Publications - links to earlier Toronto hunger reports back to 2005 ]

Source:
Daily Bread Food Bank (Toronto)

Bad policy creates the poverty trap
By Judith Maxwell
March 22, 2011
Feeding the hungry. It’s a global problem. It’s also a local problem and a sign of costly malfunctions in housing and labour markets. In 2010, food banks in Ontario provided emergency food for 3.1 per cent of the population, up from an average of 2.4 per cent from 2000 to 2007, according to Running on Empty: A Decade of Hunger in Ontario published Tuesday by the Ontario Association of Food Banks. In the midst of so much plenty, there is hunger. Why?
[ 38 comments ]

Source:
Globe and Mail

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The report:

Running on Empty: A Decade of Hunger in Ontario (PDF - 450K, 16 pages)
March 2011
Author : Judith Maxwell

Excerpt:

Key Facts
• 402,000 Ontarians a month were forced to turn to food banks in 2010, up sharply from 374,000 in 2009
• Since the recession hit in 2008, food bank use in Ontario has grown by 28 percent, an unprecedented increase
• In 2010, 3.1 percent of the Ontario population accessed food banks, making the province of Ontario the third most intensive user of food bank services, after
Newfoundland and Labrador and Manitoba
• In an effort to balance fixed incomes with rising costs of living, more Ontario seniors are turning to food banks to make it through the month – 12 percent of
the adults served were over 65 in 2010, up from 4 percent in 2009.
Seniors also make great use of meal programs offered by food banks

Source:
Ontario Association of Food Banks
The Ontario Association of Food Banks (OAFB) is a network of 20 regional food banks and over 100 community food banks across the province from Windsor to Ottawa and Niagara Falls to Thunder Bay working towards a hunger-free Ontario. It is our mission to provide food, funding, and solutions to reduce hunger in the province.

Hunger on the rise in Canada, report warns
March 3, 2011
By Isabel Teotonio
The number of malnourished and chronically hungry people in Canada is “growing at an alarming rate,” according to a report to be released Thursday. And people should be able to buy their own food rather than rely on charity, the report says.“Immediate changes are needed in provincial and federal income security programs in order to ensure that all people have the resources required to buy nutritious food,” according to the Recession Relief Coalition’s report. Titled Hunger Crisis, it follows a public inquiry the coalition organized in late November 2010. A panel of experts heard evidence from social service providers, researchers studying the issue and people who have experienced hunger.

Complete report:

Hunger Crisis:
Report of the Hunger Inquiry (PDF - 1MB, 21 pages)
March 2011
The Recession Relief Coalition (RRC) held an all day Hunger Inquiry in downtown Toronto on November 23, 2010. The RRC now presents Hunger
Crisis: Report of the Hunger Inquiry (2011). This report contains shocking testimony about hunger in Ontario as well as recommendations to help resolve this preventable crisis.
Source:
Recession Relief Coalition
The Recession Relief Coalition is a Toronto-based group of organizations and individuals concerned about the impact of the recession on Canada’s most vulnerable and marginalized residents

New from the
Institute for Competitiveness and Prosperity:

The poor still pay more:
Challenges low income families face in consuming a nutritious diet
Press Release
December 21, 2010
The Institute for Competitiveness & Prosperity, in collaboration with Open Policy Ontario’s John Stapleton and research consultant from Toronto Public Health, Brian Cook, releases its report recommending initiatives to help low income families overcome challenges in consuming a nutritious diet.

The report:

The poor still pay more: Challenges
low income families face in consuming a nutritious diet (PDF - 941K, 20 pages)
December 2010
Report recommendations:
* A new housing benefit geared to income and rental costs to free up constrained finances to purchase food
* Improved incentives for retailers and community groups to increase accessibility by low income communities to lower priced and healthier food options, particularly in urban “food deserts”
* The eventual elimination of the price influence of dairy marketing boards

Related links:

* Institute for Competitiveness and Prosperity
The Institute for Competitiveness & Prosperity is an independent, not-for-profit organization that deepens public understanding of macro and microeconomic factors behind Ontario’s economic progress. We are funded by the Government of Ontario and are mandated to share our research findings directly with the public.
The Institute serves as the research arm of the Task Force on Competitiveness, Productivity and Economic Progress.

* Toronto Public Health

* Open Policy - personal website of John Stapleton, co-author of The Poor Still Pay More
--- Check out John's Publications - Media Commentaries - Presentations

---

CTV News coverage:

Poor are hit hardest by rising food prices: study
December 21, 2010
Although social assistance in Canada has more or less kept pace with inflation in recent years, it has not kept up with the speed at which food prices have increased, making it more and more expensive for poor Canadians to eat healthy.A study from the Toronto-based Institute for Competitiveness and Prosperity released a report Tuesday looking at some of the major issues low-income Canadians face when grocery shopping.
[ Comments (75) ]
Source:
CTV News

New from
Food Banks Canada:

Food Banks Canada’s HungerCount study reports highest level of food bank use on record
HungerCount 2010 provides unique, essential information on levels of food bank use in Canada, profiles people in need of food assistance
November 16, 2010
Ottawa – The results of the HungerCount 2010 survey released today show food banks across Canada helped 867,948 separate individuals in March 2010, an increase of 9.2%, or more than 73,000 people, compared to March 2009. This is 28% higher than in 2008, and is the highest level of food bank use since 1997.

Complete report:

HungerCount 2010 (PDF - 2MB, 48 pages)
A comprehensive report on hunger and food bank use in
Canada, and recommendations for change
In March 2010, 867,948 people were assisted by food banks in Canada. This is a 9% increase over 2009 – and the highest level of food bank use on record.

HungerCount 2010 - Figures 1-8 (Excel files)

Source:
HungerCount 2010
Initiated in 1989, HungerCount is the only national survey of emergency food programs in Canada. The information the survey provides is invaluable, forming the basis of many Food Banks Canada activities throughout the year. Among many benefits, HungerCount allows Food Banks Canada to operate the National Food Sharing System on a "fair share" basis, present accurate, timely information to government, donors and media, and represent members' key concerns at a variety of public forums.
- includes links to info from earlier editions of this report back to 1999, along with general survey information and the survey guide .

Source:
Food Banks Canada
Food Banks Canada is the national charitable organization representing and supporting the
food bank community across Canada. Our members and their respective agencies serve
approximately 85% of people accessing emergency food programs nationwide.

The cost of eating:
Saskatchewan and Alberta

The Cost of Eating in Alberta in 2008 (PDF - 1.8MB, 28 pages)
February 2009 (PDF file date)
The Alberta Community / Public Health Nutritionists Food Security Subcommittee has done a remarkable job in producing a document that shows you exactly why low -income individuals and families in Alberta cannot meet the requirements of Eating Well with Canada’s Food Guide.
Source:
Growing Food Security in Alberta
Our Vision : All children and families in Alberta have healthy food.
Our Mission : Engaging Albertans – groups, organizations, business, governments and individuals - in strategies to ensure secure access to adequate amounts of safe, nutritious, culturally appropriate food for everyone, produced in an environmentally sustainable way and provided in a manner that promotes human dignity.

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The Cost of Healthy Eating in Saskatchewan 2009:
Impact on Food Security (PDF - 1.3MB, 24 pages)
April 2010
Written by the Public Health Nutritionists of Saskatchewan Working Group with the support of
Saskatchewan Regional Health Authorities
Source:
Food Secure Saskatchewan
Food Secure Saskatchewan is a coalition of individuals and groups working toward, or interested in, achieving food security for all Saskatchewan citizens by way of a healthy and sustainable food system. This coalition includes community-based organizations, nutritionists, health professionals, hunger groups, First Nations residents, government departments, community leaders, farmers, producers, and others.

Related links:

Dietitians of Canada (DC)
DC is the professional organization representing over 5500 dietitians in Canada including approximately 650 dietitians in Alberta and the Territories. Dietitians of Canada speaks out on food and nutrition issues important to the health and well-being of Canadians.

People's Food Policy Project - "Creating food policy from the ground up"
The People’s Food Policy Project is a pan-Canadian network of citizens and organizations that is creating Canada’s first food sovereignty policy.

From
The Salvation Army:

Salvation Army Reports High Demand for Food Service
October 5, 2010
Toronto, ON – For many Canadians, the recession is not over. A mid-year, national survey of more than 140 Salvation Army food service workers from across the country indicates that demand for food programs, including food banks, , meal programs and street ministry units, are on the rise. More than three-quarters of all respondents indicated that requests for food service increased this year. At the same time, food donations in most areas either remained the same or decreased in 2010. (...) The second annual report, “Restocking the Shelves 2010,” surveyed 143 Salvation Army officers, employees, staff members and administrators across Canada with firsthand experience in The Salvation Army’s food service programs between July 15th and August 15th 2010. The survey helps to gauge current food stock levels at Salvation Army feeding centres nationwide.

The complete report:

Restocking the Shelves 2010 - 8 pages

[ NOTE : This report is also available here
in case you have difficulty with the above version.]

Source:
The Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is an international Christian organization that began its work in Canada in 1882 and has grown to become the largest non-governmental direct provider of social services in the country. The Salvation Army gives hope and support to vulnerable people today and everyday in 400 communities across Canada and 117 countries around the world.

Ontario

Fall Drive launches with release of
new report on hunger in the Greater Toronto Area (PDF - 24K, 1 page)
Media Release
September 23, 2010
TORONTO — Daily Bread Food Bank launched its annual Fall Drive today with a new report on hunger in the GTA showing the largest increase in food bank use in fifteen years. With food bank use at an all time high, the need to give is stronger than ever. While donors and supporters dug deep last year, donations have also flat lined, meaning Daily Bread Food Bank is trying to do more with less. (...) The report, Who's Hungry: 2010 Profile of Hunger in the GTA, shows an overall increase of 15 per cent in client visits. For Daily Bread’s member agencies, there were an extra 123,000 visits last year. The average person coming to a food bank spends 68 per cent of their income on rent and utilities. With an average monthly income of $1000, that leaves just over $300 for everything else: school supplies for the kids, clothes for winter, medications and food. The research shows most people are going into debt to make up the shortfall: 59 per cent have borrowed from family or friends and 28 per cent have used credit cards recently in order to pay the bills. The issue with hunger isn’t about food security, it’s about income security. There is enough food for everyone, but people on low incomes do not have enough money to purchase the food that is available.

The report:

Who's Hungry: 2010 Profile of Hunger in the GTA (PDF - 7.4MB, 32 pages)
This past year, food banks experienced the largest increase in client visits since social assistance rates were cut by 21.6 per cent in 1995. The percentage of children 18 years of age and under requiring food banks remains the same, while the percentage of people 45 years of age or older using food banks is getting larger.

Key Findings (60K, 1 page)

Source:
Daily Bread Food Bank is a non-profit, charitable organization that is fighting to end hunger in our communities. As Canada’s largest food bank, Daily Bread serves people through neighbourhood food banks and meal programs in over 170 member agencies across Toronto.

New from Statistics Canada:

Food Statistics 2009
May 2010
HTML version
PDF version (314K, 44 pages)

Table of contents:
1. Highlights
2. Analysis
3. Tables
4. Data quality, concepts and methodology
5. Appendices
6. User information
7. Related products
[ earlier editions of this report - back to 2003]
[ Food Statistics Main Page ]
On a per capita basis, the Canadian diet in 2009 included more fresh fruit and vegetables, cereals, coffee and fish compared with 2008.
(No mention of food insecurity, in case you're wondering...)

The OSAP diet and the student lifestyle
Just how well should students expect to live while in school?
By Jeff Rybak
March 8, 2010
Okay, I’ll be the one to say it. I have no problem at all with the “OSAP Diet” as exposed by the Toronto Star. Apparently students funding their studies entirely on government loans are expected to survive on $7.50/day for food. And my reaction, mainly, is a big “so what?”
(...)
Source:
Macleans OnCampus

Related link:

$7.50 a day is all you get on the student OSAP diet
By Louise Brown
March 7, 2009
Source:
Toronto Star
NOTE: Don't forget to click the "Comments" link at the top of the article to access 100+ reactions.
The most pathetic comments are the well-intentioned food shopping suggestions from frugal shoppers (Tsubouchi Tuna, anyone?).
The commenter who said "My family of 5 lives on about $4 per day for food" should be summarily dispatched to the Ontario Association of Food Banks (OAFB) to help them re-draft their food cost reports. Case studies in a 2008 OAFB study (see the link below) show that the cost of healthy food purchased from the grocery store was almost $40 per week for a single person and, for a family of two adults and a 7-year-old child, $85 weekly. Maybe the commenter's "family of five" consisted of one adult and four cats. Curiously, though, the $40/wk. amount for a healthy diet for a single person would actually leave $12.50 in the OSAP student's pocket at the end of each week.

Related link:

A Gathering Storm: The Price of Food, Gasoline, and Energy,
and Changing Economic Conditions in Ontario, 2008 (PDF - 1.2MB, 24 pages)
We can end hunger. Think about it.
Source:
Ontario Association of Food Banks

Low-income families in BC can’t afford healthy food
December 15, 2009
Vancouver, British Columbia – Imagine being $127 ‘in debt’ after your monthly rent is paid and you’ve bought groceries for you and your family, leaving no money for other necessities such as clothing, transportation and school supplies. According to the latest The Cost of Eating in BC report, this is the situation for a family of four living on income assistance in this province.

The Cost of Eating in BC 2009 by the Dietitians of Canada and the Community Nutritionists Council of BC demonstrates that it is impossible for families or individuals on income assistance or earning a low wage to afford enough healthy food. While shelter and food costs have risen significantly over the past decade, income assistance rates have remained virtually unchanged and minimum wage, once the highest in the country, has remained at $8.00/hour.

Complete report:

The Cost of Eating in BC 2009 (PDF - 4.6MB, 12 pages)
December 2009
Why do dietitians publish The Cost of Eating in BC report?
The purpose of the report is to bring attention to the fact that not all residents of British Columbia have enough money to purchase healthy food.
The facts in BC:
• The 2009 monthly cost of the nutritious food basket for a family of four is $872
• A family of four on income assistance would need more than 100% of their income for shelter and food only

Source:
Dietitians of Canada (includes links to a one-page media backgrounder and to earlier reports in this series (2001-2007)
[The Community Nutritionists Council of BC doesn't appear to have a website]

Related link:

‘It makes a huge difference’ [expired link]
By Kelly McManus
December 17, 2009
(...) With a monthly disposable income of $1,773, a family of four living on income assistance spends 49 per cent of its monthly income on food and 58 per cent of that cash on shelter. That leaves them $127 in the red, the [Cost of Eating] report says. The report also found that for those on low incomes, high costs for housing leave little money left over for food each month. In more remote communities, food can be more expensive and healthy choices can be limited.
Source:
North Shore Outlook - "Bringing BC’s Communities together"

- Go to the Non-Governmental Sites in British Columbia (D-W) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/bcbkmrk3.htm

What's new from the Daily Bread Food Bank and the
Caledon Institute of Social Policy:

Developing a Deprivation Index: The Research Process (PDF - 548K, 27 pages)
December 2, 2009
This paper tells the story of the development of the Ontario Deprivation Index by the Daily Bread Food Bank and the Caledon Institute of Social Policy. A ‘deprivation index’ is a list of items which are widely seen as necessary for a household to have a standard of living above the poverty level so that most households not in poverty are likely to have these items, but households in poverty are likely to find some of them unaffordable and so not have all those items. The index should therefore contain those items that distinguish the poor from the non-poor in the prevailing social and economic conditions.

A three-stage community-based research process was used to develop the measure, engaging those with lived experience of poverty. Statistics Canada has now refined this list and incorporated it as a supplement to their Labour Force Survey, under the sponsorship of the Government of Ontario. The result of the process was the creation of the Ontario Deprivation Index, which constitutes one part of the multi-indicator “Child and Youth Opportunity Wheel” in the Ontario Poverty Reduction Strategy. This is the first poverty measure to be developed through a unique partnership of a community organization, a policy think tank, government and Statistics Canada. It is also the first time a deprivation index has been developed in North America . The deprivation index is an innovative way of measuring poverty, different than all the other measures now used in Canada .

Testing the Validity of the Ontario Deprivation Index (PDF - 122K, 13 pages)
December 2, 2009
Using an empirical methodology based on a series of surveys and focus groups, Daily Bread Food Bank and the Caledon Institute of Social Policy have developed a deprivation index for Ontario . A ‘deprivation index’ is a list of items which are widely seen as necessary for a household to have a standard of living above the poverty level so that most households not in poverty are likely to have these items, but households in poverty are likely to find some of them unaffordable and so not have all those items. The index should therefore contain those items that distinguish the poor from the non-poor in the prevailing social and economic conditions.

This paper is a preliminary test of the validity of the Ontario Deprivation Index using the results of a Statistics Canada survey of 10,000 Ontario households. We look at the performance of the index against 6 variables: income, education, employment status, immigration, family type and housing tenure. A similar method for testing the validity of the new Irish deprivation index was also used, although in this paper we are presenting only the most basic tests. Based on this early analysis, the Ontario Deprivation Index fully meets the tests of validity in relation to these variables.

Source:
Daily Bread Food Bank
and
Caledon Institute of Social Policy
[NOTE: You'll also find links to both reports on the Caledon Institute website.]

Related links:

New measure for the pain of poverty
December 3, 2009
By Laurie Monsebraaten and Tanya Talaga
One in eight Ontario children live in families that can't afford fresh fruits and vegetables every day, or can't afford to replace a broken appliance or share the occasional meal with friends or family. These are a few of the 10 indicators listed in a new provincial poverty measure called the Ontario Deprivation Index, introduced Wednesday by Children's Minister Laurel Broten as part of the government's first annual report on the province's poverty reduction plan. The 10 "deprivation indicators" are not intended to be a comprehensive list. Instead, they are a sample of items and activities common to most Ontarians but out of reach for poor households, the report says.
Source:
Parent Central
[ Toronto Star ]

Where are you on the Deprivation Index?
By Laurie Monsebraaten
December 2, 2009
One in eight Ontario children is living in poverty, according to a new provincial measure released Wednesday that looks at whether families can afford items on a list of basic necessities. Families not able to afford two or more items from a list of 10 indicators on the Ontario Deprivation Index are considered as "having a poverty level standard of living," the McGuinty government says in its first annual report on Ontario's poverty reduction strategy.
Source:
Toronto Star

---

National Post editorial board: A new way to overstate poverty
December 4, 2009
(...) The McGuinty government has chosen to use a measure of relative poverty known as a “deprivation index,” popular in England, Scotland, New Zealand and elsewhere. Any Ontarian unable to eat fresh fruit and vegetables daily, or meat, fish or “a vegetarian equivalent” every second day is considered poor. (...) We have long argued that Statistics Canada’s Low-Income Cut Off (LICO) — a commonly cited measurement of poverty in Canada — was a useless, relativist index. But we think Ontario’s deprivation index is even worse. No doubt, however, the bureaucrats like it just fine — for it justifies the case for more government intervention in the economy.
Source:
National Post

HUNGER COUNT 2009:
A comprehensive report on hunger and food bank use in Canada,
and recommendations for change (PDF - 2MB, 44 pages)
November 17, 2009
In the month of March 2009, 794,738 people were assisted by a food bank in Canada.
This is an 18% increase compared to the same period in 2008 – the largest year-over-year increase on record.

[ previous Hunger Count reports - annual, back to 1997 ]

Source:
Food Banks Canada
Food Banks Canada is the national charitable organization representing the food bank community across Canada. Our Members, Affiliate Member food banks, and their respective agencies serve approximately 85% of people accessing emergency food programs nationwide. We continue to work to find short term and long term solutions for the over 700,000 hungry Canadians who are assisted by a food bank every month.

Related links:

Recession's toll seen in record food bank spike
2009 survey finds largest-ever increase in food bank use
November 17, 2009
By Richard J Brennan
OTTAWA – Canadians devastated by the recession are turning to food banks in record numbers. Results of the HungerCounts 2009 survey, released Tuesday, show that food banks across the country helped almost 800,000 individuals in March, representing an increase of 120,000 or 20 per cent more than March 2008. "This is the largest increase in food bank use on record," Katherine Schmidt, executive director of Food Banks Canada, told reporters. The need for food banks increased in every region with the biggest jump in Alberta, which experienced an increase of 61 per cent.
Source:
Toronto Star

A Comparison of Household Food Security in Canada and the United States
By Mark Nord and Heather Hopwood
December 2008
Food security—consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life—is essential for health and good nutrition. The extent to which a nation’s population achieves food security is an indication of its material and social well-being. Differences in the prevalence of household-level food insecurity between Canada and the United States are described at the national level and for selected economic and demographic subpopulations. Associations of food security with economic and demographic characteristics are examined in multivariate analyses that hold other characteristics constant. Comparable measures of household food security were calculated from the nationally representative Canadian Community Health Survey Cycle 2.2 (2004) and the U.S. Current Population Survey Food Security Supplement (2003-05). Based on the standard U.S. methodology, the percentage of the population living in households classified as food insecure was lower in Canada (7.0 percent) than in the United States (12.6 percent). The difference was greater for the percentage of children living in food-insecure households (8.3 percent vs. 17.9 percent) than for adults (6.6 percent vs. 10.8 percent). These differences primarily reflected different prevalence rates of food insecurity for Canadian and U.S. households with similar demographic and economic characteristics. Differences in population composition on measured economic and demographic characteristics account for only about 15 to 30 percent of the overall Canada-U.S. difference.

Report summary (HTML)

Complete report (PDF - 917K, 50 pages)
December 2008

Source:
U.S. Dept of Agriculture (USDA)
[ See the international links section of this page for a more recent US study of food security ]

Ontario:

In the Midst of the Storm:
The Impact of the Economic Downturn for Ontario's Food Banks (PDF - 2.9MB, 16 pages)
October 2009
(...) There can be no doubt that Ontario’s food banks are struggling to respond to the collateral damage caused by the global economic downturn. The challenge of hunger was already staggering before we were hit by the Great Recession: hundreds of thousands of our neighbours were turning to food banks. We are now faced with an even greater challenge: tens of thousands more Ontarians are turning to us for support, and many food banks are faced with a decline in donations.

Source:
Ontario Association of Food Banks (OAFB)
OAFB is a network of food banks in 100 communities across Ontario.

More OAFB reports:

OAFB Research Studies
OAFB releases a number of key research studies throughout the year, including their annual Ontario Hunger Report.

OAFB Government Submissions
OAFB provides the provincial government with thoughtful research and policy solutions on a regular basis related to issues important to food banks and those they serve across the province.

Put Food in the Budget
March 3, 2009
By Brian Eng
Fighting poverty is the best medicine money can buy according to the Association of Local Public Health Agencies (alPHa). They partnering with the 25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction in an Ontario-wide campaign to urge the Ontario government to add a Healthy Food Supplement to the Basic Needs Allowance for all adult recipients of social assistance, as part of its Spring 2009 budget. (...) alPHa’s 36 member public health units have endorsed two separate resolutions since 2001 urging the Ontario Government to set social assistance rates according to the true costs of basic needs. The Put Food in the Budget campaign calls for the addition of a $100.00 Healthy Food Supplement to the Basic Needs Allowance as a down-payment on closing the gap between social assistance incomes and the cost of healthy eating. The campaign was launched on February 19 in Toronto by Toronto Medical Officer of Health Dr. David McKeown, with representatives from the Stop Community Food Centre and the 25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction.
Comment found in:
Wellesley Institute Blog
[ Wellesley Institute ]

Source:
Association of Local Public Health Agencies
We are a non-profit organization that provides leadership to boards of health and public health units in Ontario. Our members include board of health members of health units, medical and associate medical officers of health, and senior public health managers.

Daily Bread Food Bank
Fighting Hunger : Who’s Hungry
2009 Profile of Hunger in the Greater Toronto Area
June 18

Report illustrates food bank use spike to over 1 million visits
Food bank clients going into debt and selling assets to pay for food and rent
June 18, 2009
TORONTO - Government programs are failing to support people ravaged by the recession, according to Daily Bread Food Bank's latest Who's Hungry: Profile of Hunger in the GTA. Client visits to GTA food banks over the past year exceeded 1 million for the first time ever. Total client visits were 1,030,568, a rise of 8% over last year. More disturbingly, the increase in client visits in the first three months of 2009 averaged 17%. The spike in food bank use is directly related to the current recession. Over half of new clients surveyed accessed a food bank for economic reasons due to job loss (35%), reduced hours at work (6%), or had no current source of income and were living on savings (11%).
Source:
Canada Newswire

Complete report:
Fighting Hunger : Who’s Hungry
2009 Profile of Hunger in the GTA (PDF - 798K, 28 pages)
June 2009

Key findings (PDF - 51K, 1 page)
[there's more info on each finding below in the PDF file.]
* Food bank use in the GTA has rapidly increased in the past year due to the recession.
* The largest portion of new clients is people who have lost their jobs or have had their hours cut. A substantial number are not accessing welfare because of their savings.
* The majority of people using food banks do so for a relatively short period of time.
* Over one third of food bank clients are children. However, single adults remain the largest household type using a food bank.
* The majority of respondents are Canadian citizens, and many are immigrants who have been in Canada for 10 years or more.
* A significant percentage of respondents are highly educated, and include newcomers who cannot get work in their field.
* The cost of housing is the largest expense for most people.
* Hunger in the GTA is the result of lack of money, not lack of food.
* Being employed is not always a ticket out of poverty.
* People living in poverty have a high level of vulnerability to costly forms of debt in order to pay for their basic needs

Source:
Daily Bread Food Bank (Toronto)

Ontario

New from the Ontario Association of Food Banks:

Recession budget needs to fight poverty : report
Press Release
March 12, 2009
Toronto - Recession could push Ontario’s poverty rate up by four per cent in 2010 if the provincial government does not make key investments in this month’s stimulus budget, says a report released by the Ontario Association of Food Banks (OAFB). Fighting Poverty: The Best Way to Beat the Recession proves that the provincial government must make strategic investments in social infrastructure, such as affordable housing and income supports, for the poorest Ontarians in order to stimulate the economy and contain poverty rates.

Complete report:

Fighting Poverty: The Best Way to Beat the Recession (PDF - 587K, 20 pages)
March 2009

Source:
Ontario Association of Food Banks (OAFB)

Other recent releases from the OAFB:

Ontario Hunger Report 2008: The Leading Edge of the Storm (PDF - 2MB, 24 pages)
December 2008

The Cost of Poverty: An Analysis of
the Economic Cost of Poverty in Ontario (PDF - 1.3MB, 36 pages)
November 2008

Related link:

'Paycheque to paycheque,' five kids to feed
500,000 in Ontario facing poverty without budget help, report finds
March 12, 2009
By Laurie Monsebraaten
Toronto construction worker Mark Merner has been struggling to support his young family since his hours were slashed in half last fall. And he's worried it could get worse. "The construction industry is really slowing down and I've been told there might not be much work this summer," says the father of five children age 5 and younger, including a baby and a set of twins. The Merners are among about 500,000 Ontarians who will be driven into poverty by the recession unless this month's provincial budget boosts incomes and expands programs that support low-income families, says a report by the Ontario Association of Food Banks.
Source:
The Toronto Star

Food Insecurity in Canada and the United States:
An International Comparison (PDF file - 315K, 33 pages)
May 2007
"(...) The higher overall prevalence of food insecurity in the U.S. reflects primarily higher prevalence rates in the lower-middle, middle, and upper-middle income adequacy categories—corresponding to incomes ranging from the U.S. poverty line to about three times the U.S. poverty line. (...) Food insecurity is more strongly associated with lower educational attainment in the U.S. than in Canada. In particular, among households lacking an adult with at least secondary (i.e., high school) graduation, food insecurity is about twice as prevalent in the U.S. as in Canada."
Source:
New York City Coalition Against Hunger (NYCCAH)
See also:
- Top 10 myths about Food Stamps
- 1.3 million New Yorkers (one in six) live in food insecure households. 417,000 of them are children.

Understanding the Link Between Welfare Policy and the Use of Food Banks (PDF - 401K, 34 pages)
April 2009
By Michael Goldberg and David A. Green
This report examines who uses food banks in Canada and how food bank use relates to changes in government welfare policy. Data collected by Food Banks Canada show that food bank use increased dramatically from just over 700,000 Canadians using food banks during March 1998 to over 840,000 in March 2004. This increase occurred in spite of increases in employment rates and average wages and decreases in the number of welfare recipients over this period. Since then, the numbers using food banks have declined to levels near those in the late 1990s but this indicates that the prolonged economic boom simply by-passed a substantial number of the least well-off in our society. Now that the boom appears to be over, the number of persons using the food banks will almost certainly swell. The report makes several recommendations to help ensure that all residents have a right to adequate and appropriate food.
Source:
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

Related link:

Welfare cuts drive up food bank use, study confirms
April 30, 2009
By Laurie Monsebraaten
Canada's booming economy helped reduce food bank use before the recession, but it didn't erase the surge that followed provincial welfare cuts of the 1990s, says a study to be released today. And unless federal and provincial governments repair the country's tattered social safety net, more Canadians will be forced to rely on food banks as the economic crisis deepens, the study warns.The study, by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, is the first national analysis of how welfare policy affects food bank use.
Source:
Toronto Star

More working families using food banks: study
November 25, 2008
More working families are availing themselves of food banks than ever before as Canada's economy continues to slump, according to an annual survey of the country's emergency food programs. Food Banks Canada's Hunger Count 2008 survey, released on Tuesday, found more than 14 per cent of all food-bank users have income from employment, an increase from 11 per cent in 2002.
Source:
CBC News

Complete report:

Hunger Count 2008:
A Comprehensive Report on
Hunger and Food Bank Use in Canada (PDF - 1.4MB, 40 pages)
November 2008
Food bank use has persistently remained above 700,000 people per month since 1997, throughout some of the most economically prosperous years this country has ever seen. With economic uncertainty ahead, there is concern that this number could climb higher still. If we are to figure out how to significantly reduce hunger in Canada, we need to understand who is turning to food banks for help, and why. That is the purpose of HungerCount.
- incl. Provincial perspectives on hunger, a 1-2 page overview of food security in each province prepared by someone doing front-line work in the area of hunger and food security

More about Hunger Count - background notes and links to earlier versions of this report back to 1997

Source:
Food Banks Canada
Food Banks Canada (formerly the Canadian Association of Food Banks) is a national charitable organization representing the food bank community across Canada. Our members and their respective agencies serve approximately 85% of people accessing emergency food programs nationwide. Our mission is to meet the short-term need for food and find long-term solutions to reduce hunger.

Nova Scotia

Healthy food costs too steep: report
April 16, 2009
A Halifax university reports low-income families are struggling to put nutritious food on the table. The latest food costing report from Mount St. Vincent University researchers puts the cost of a basic nutritious food basket for a four-person family at just over $670 a month. Dr. Patty Williams, the Canada Research Chair in food securities and policy change says that's an 18 per cent increase in the last six years. (...) The report, titled "Cost and Affordability of a Nutritious Diet in Nova Scotia," encourages all levels of government to examine price protection for staple foods, and cost sharing in order to address deficiencies in social assistance.

Complete report:

Cost and Affordability of a Nutritious Diet in Nova Scotia:
Report of 2007 Food Costing (PDF - 1.3MB, 28 pages)
A project of the Nova Scotia Food Security Networking partnership with community partners,
the Department of Health Promotion and Protection, and Mount Saint Vincent University
Released April 2008

"(...) The reasons for concern about income-related food insecurity can be understood when we examine the following statistics:
• 14.6% of Nova Scotians households (approximately 132,400 households) reported either moderate or severe income-related food insecurity in 2004. Nova Scotia is the only province with significantly higher levels than the national
average (9.2%).
• Although Nova Scotia has seen modest increases in minimum wage and Income Assistance rates in the past couple of years, these rates have consistently been shown to be inadequate to allow individuals and families to meet their basic needs.
• 18,417 Nova Scotia citizens accessed a food bank in March 2007.5 Research shows this represents only 1/4 to 1/3 of those experiencing food insecurity."

[ More reports and publications
about food security and food costing ]

Source:
Nova Scotia Food Security Network

Related link:

Rising food costs hitting home
Already many in Nova Scotia can’t afford to eat properly [expired link]
June 11, 2008
"(...) The 2007 food costing research found that many households in our province, especially families who are getting by on low-wage incomes or social assistance, simply cannot afford to fill their cupboards and refrigerators with healthy foods.
(...) A woman raising two children on a minimum wage paycheque is at especially high risk for food insecurity, according to the project’s 2007 findings released this spring. Every month, after all the expenses of shelter, utilities, transportation, clothing and food are factored in, this young mother would be in a deficit of $8.31. She’d be even worse off when her little girl turned six and she no longer received the Universal Child Care Benefit of $100 a month. If that same woman were on welfare, she would have $127.96 a month to spend on "extras," but only if she were receiving additional financial assistance to go to school or look for work. Without that extra money, she would be even further behind...."
Source:
Halifax Chronicle-Herald

COMMENT : The Welfare Wall
[By Gilles]
The preceding paragraph comparing the financial situation of a woman with two kids on welfare vs minimum wage income is a good illustration of what is called "the welfare wall" in welfare reform parlance. All Canadian welfare programs offer some types of non-cash assistance assistance to their clients, such as coverage for prescription drugs, dental and vision care - although these types of aid are generally limited by restrictive terms and conditions (e.g., some provinces require an employable person to be in receipt of welfare for a specified time period before they qualify for non-emergency dental care).

In the above example, the household on welfare would have just under $130/month left after paying for shelter, utilities, transportation, clothing and food. If the head of that household gets a full-time job at minimum wage (which is not likely, since most minimum wage earners don't work for the full year), the family would be $8 in the hole each month --- hardly an incentive for someone to make the leap to the workforce. Recognizing this, several jurisdictions offer special work-related allowances for such things as transportation and work-appropriate clothing to encourage people to join or rejoin the labour force, and many also offer extended coverage for some non-cash health-related benefits. Note that these are not new options in the ongoing efforts to reform Canadian welfare programs --- the Canada Assistance Plan (federal legislation that enabled federal contributions to provincial welfare costs) shared in the cost of these incentives from 1966-67 until it was replaced in 1996 by the Canada Health and Social Transfer.

- Go to the Nova Scotia Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/nsbkmrk.htm

From Health Canada:

Canadian Community Health Survey, Cycle 2.2, Nutrition (2004):
Income-Related Household Food Security in Canada
HTML version
PDF version - 2.9MB, 124 pages
The Office of Nutrition Policy and Promotion, Health Canada, is pleased to release Canadian Community Health Survey, Cycle 2.2, Nutrition (2004)—Income-Related Household Food Security in Canada. This report provides, for the first time in Canada, national and provincial estimates of income-related food security at the household, adult and child level based on a standard multiple-indicator measure of food security. This report will be of value to policy analysts, public health professionals, researchers, academic faculty and students with an interest in nutrition and healthy eating, social determinants of health and population health.
Source:
Canadian Community Health Survey
The Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) initiative began in 2000 with its main goals being the provision of population-level information on health determinants, health status and health system utilization. This series of surveys is a joint effort of Health Canada, Statistics Canada and the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI)

Related link:

Poor in B.C. eat the worst
Government must raise welfare: Report
November 29, 2007
British Columbians have little access to healthy food because welfare cheques and minimum wage are too low, according to a report released Wednesday.The annual release from the Dieticians of Canada and the Community Nutritionists Council of B.C. say this province has more families than any other facing substantial barriers when trying to access healthy food.
Source:
Canada.com

The Cost of Eating in BC - 2006
November 23, 2006
Dietitians of Canada, BC Region in partnership with the Community Nutritionists Council of BC produced this 2006 report to demonstrate that some groups within our population are denied the right to safe and nutritious food due to limited financial resources. Individuals and families receiving income assistance and those working in low paying jobs are at high risk for food insecurity. The 2006 report was endorsed by 17 provincial agencies.
- the link above includes all of the links below as well as links to the same report for earlier years (annual, back to 2001)

* The Cost of Eating in BC - 2006 - Media Backgrounder (PDF file - 268K, 1 page)
* The Cost of Eating in BC - 2006 - Complete report (PDF file - 1.56MB, 19 pages)
* The Cost of Eating in BC - 2006- Overview (PDF file - 481K, 2 pages)

Low income British Columbians can't afford to buy healthy food
News Release
October 6, 2003
"With rising food and housing costs, low-income families are more desperate than ever. A low income family would need to spend up to 44% of their disposable income on a nutritious diet compared to the average Canadian spending 17%. Twenty percent of the population has been defined as low income ... that's more than 800,000 British Columbians! The Cost of Eating in BC 2003 report profiles the struggles of many low-income families in BC. According to 2003 report, published by the Community Nutritionists Council of BC and Dietitians of Canada - BC Region, the monthly cost to feed a family of four increased by 9% since 2000 yet the income for the same family on income assistance declined by 6%."

Complete report:
The Cost of Eating in BC 2003 (PDF file - 147K, 25 pages)

A Workbook on Food Security & Influencing Policy
Developed by the Food Security Projects
- incl. links to: Intro (Food for Thought) - What are we talking about? - Why care about food insecurity - What can we do about it? - What is policy? - How can we influence policy? - Strategies for Action - Resources and Tools - Fact Sheets and Handout - About this Workbook - How to use this Workbook - Questions Behind the Workbook - Acknowledgements - Bibliography

Bibliography and Useful Resources
- links to 50+ sites organized under the following headings : General Food Security Websites - Defining Food Security - Food Security, Families & Children, Communities, & Health - Food Security, the Environment and the Economy - Addressing Food Security - The Policy Process, Implementing Policy & Influencing Public Policy - Provincial/Territorial Food Security Groups

Source:
Atlantic Health Promotion Research Centre
Nova Scotia Nutrition Council

FoodShare - "Working with communities to improve access to affordable, nutritious food"
FoodShare is a non-profit food security organization based in Toronto founded in 1985 to co-ordinate emergency food services and to collect and distribute food. Over the years, Foodshare has expanded to include a volunteer Hunger Hotline, advocacy for policies to ensure adequate employment and income and a number of self-help models like co-operative buying systems, collective kitchens and community gardens to address short-term issues of household hunger while also providing longer-term benefits by building the capacity of individuals and communities.
Explore the main sections of this site (Growing - Cooking - Learning - Working - Food 2020 - Good Food Box) for further links to online resources

Welfare falls short of food costs, says study
Researchers call for review of welfare benefit levels
"March 12, 2002 -- A nutritional diet - as defined by the Ontario government's own standards - is out of reach for Toronto's welfare recipients, says a U of T study"
Source : University of Toronto News and Events

Food insecurity in Canadian households, 1998/99
About 8% of Canadians, or just under 2.5 million people, had to compromise the quality or the quantity of their diet at least once in 1998/99 because of a lack of money, according to the National Population Health Survey.
Source: The Daily, Statistics Canada (Wednesday, August 15, 2001)
NOTE : Go to the Statistics Canada website and do a search on "food" to find related reports and studies.

Food and Hunger Action Committee (Toronto)
The Food and Hunger Action Committee was formed in December 1999 to study food security in Toronto and recommend ways to reduce hunger, improve the nutritional health of Torontonians, and support food-based initiatives that benefit Toronto's economy, environment and quality of life. The Committee took a collaborative approach to its work, bringing together City councillors, City staff, the staff of non-profit agencies, food program participants, volunteers, clergy and interested members of the public to discuss the wide range of issues related to food and hunger in Toronto.
The Committee's work resulted in the release of two reports, one for each phase of this initiative
Planting the Seeds - May 2000
- includes information gathered from the community consultations, an inventory of food and hunger-related initiatives in which the City of Toronto is involved, a review of current literature in this area and recommendations on how to proceed. The above link takes you to the executive summary and a link to the report itself in PDF format -- 59 pages, 433K.
The Growing Season - February 2001
Phase II action plan: City Council asked the Committee to create a food charter for the City and to present an action plan to improve Torontonians' access to safe, affordable and nutritious food, and enhance the coordination and delivery of services related to food and hunger. The above link takes you to the executive summary and a link to the report itself in PDF format -- 1055K, 56 pages. There's also a link to Toronto's Food Charter (in PDF format - 110K, 4 pages) on this page.

Daily Bread Food Bank (Toronto)
"The Daily Bread Food Bank is a non-profit, non-denominational charitable organization working to eliminate hunger in the Greater Toronto Area. It is Canada's largest food bank, serving 170 food programs. In addition, we work together to try to end the root causes of hunger through public education and research."

Publications

Sample recent publications:

Research shows food bank clients spend 77% of income on rent
TORONTO, June 24, 2008
People accessing food banks in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) are unable to get ahead because of the high cost of housing, according to a report released today by Daily Bread Food Bank. Who's Hungry: 2008 Profile of Hunger in the GTA found that food bank clients pays an average of 77% of their income on housing alone, which crowds out money available for other basic necessities such as food.

Complete report:

Who’s Hungry:
2008 Profile of Hunger in the Greater Toronto Area (PDF - 672K, 32 pages)
June 2008

Hungry City> Make Your Mark!
Toronto's Daily Bread Food Bank Blog
Launched in June 2007
"(...) It is time to take the next steps in the fight against hunger and that is where Hungry City> Make Your Mark comes in. It is also where you come in. We are armed with information and we have realistic policy solutions outlined in A New Deal to Fight Hunger. Now, we need to come together for real political change. You are invited to post your concerns about hunger and poverty in your community on this blog. Keep visiting hungrycity.ca to see where people stand on this important issue. Daily Bread Food Bank is committed to ending the need for food banks and we are excited to work with our community and start mobilizing to have our voices heard. No one should go hungry in our great city, province or country. I’ve made my mark…have you?" [Excerpt from the Hungry City Blog Welcome Message, June 5/07)
Source:
Daily Bread Food Bank

Who's Hungry: 2007 Profile of Hunger in the GTA (PDF file - 1.8MB, 32 pages)
June 5, 2007
Read a detailed report about the current hunger crisis in the GTA. It features Daily Bread's A New Deal to Fight Hunger, a significant next step toward solving the hunger crisis.

Who's Hungry 2007 : Key Statistics (PDF file - 63K, 1 page)
June 5, 2007
Check out the key statistics drawn from the survey over 1,800 food bank clients from across the GTA.

A New Deal to Fight Hunger (PDF file - 60K, 2 pages)
June 1, 2007
Daily Bread's call for a comprehensive anti-poverty strategy

Related link:

Hungry City - A Daily Bread Food Bank Initiative
There is no excuse for hunger and poverty in a country as wealthy as Canada, the Hungry City initiative is your chance to take action. Join with thousands of others to make your voice heard for real political change, to elect a provincial government committed to ending hunger and poverty on October 10th, 2007. Hungry City is about you. Find out how you can participate, make your mark here...

National Hunger Awareness Day
June 6th, 2006 marks the launch of the inaugural National Hunger Awareness Day in Canada. The goal is to raise public awareness of domestic hunger at both the National and Local level. A cross-sector of sponsors and stakeholders will be engaged ranging from media, faith-based groups, national corporations, politicians and the general public. Local activities will also take place in an effort to raise food and funds through our various members. Learn more about Hunger Awareness Day and how you can take part!
- incl. links to : Our Mission - Events - Photo Album - Media Room - Related Links - FAQs

U.S.:
National Hunger Awareness Day
America's Second Harvest - The Nation's Food Bank Network
- Hunger in America 2006
"The America's Second Harvest Network produced "Hunger in America 2006 ," a comprehensive profile of the incidence and nature of hunger and food insecurity in the U.S. Our study provides extensive demographic profiles of emergency food clients at charitable feeding agencies and comprehensive information on the nature and efficacy of local agencies in meeting the food security needs of clients.The study is the largest of its kind. More than 52,000 individuals agreed to share their personal stories with us through face-to-face interviews at charitable emergency hunger-relief agencies like pantries, soup kitchens, and shelters. Nearly 31,000 local emergency hunger-relief agencies completed survey questionnaires about their efforts to serve millions of hungry Americans."

-------------------------------------

Daily Bread’s Who’s Hungry report illustrates depth of hunger crisis
Survey examines hunger in the GTA and Daily Bread advances solutions
(PDF file - 96K, 1 page)
News Release
June 6, 2006
TORONTO, ON ? Food bank use across the GTA has risen a dramatic 79% since 1995, according to the report Who’s Hungry: 2006 Profile of Hunger in the GTA released today at BCE Place. The results of Daily Bread’s annual survey paint a picture that cannot be ignored of the struggles and financial plight of the diverse population relying on food banks. The 894,017 people who accessed emergency food services last year through GTA food banks, 38% of whom were children, would not go hungry if the issue of poverty were addressed. So, in conjunction with the report, Daily Bread advances the Blueprint to Fight Hunger.

Complete report:

Who's Hungry:
2006 Profile of Hunger in the Greater Toronto Area
(PDF file - 1.9MB, 13 pages)

Blueprint to Fight Hunger (PDF file - 214K, 1 page)
June 2006

Fact Check:
Does anybody really know how many Torontonians rely on food banks?
October 17, 2007
The plight of the urban poor is one of the Toronto Star's most cherished issues—so much so, apparently, that of late they've taken to cloning them.
Source:
Macleans Magazine

The Daily Bread Food Bank announces education savings program to help break poverty cycle
Canadian Scholarship Trust Foundation facilitates starting an RESP for Daily Bread clients
TORONTO, April 10, 2006/CNW/ - The Daily Bread Food Bank announced today a newpartnership designed to help break the poverty cycle through an accessible education savings program. Recognizing the importance of saving for post-secondary education in reducing the barriers to higher education and encouraging self-sustainability, Daily Bread and Canadian Scholarship Trust Foundation (C.S.T.) have partnered to help low-income families take advantage of the Canada Learning Bond (CLB) program by setting up a Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP).
Source:
Newswire.ca

Working people go hungry
Low pay, no health benefits drive families to welfare, says Sue Cox
Jun. 28, 2005
"Food banks are on a treadmill; we have to run faster just to stay in the same place. After 16 years of working at the Daily Bread Food Bank, I have never seen the food bank network as strained as it is now. We can't keep running more and more food drives to keep up to demand. So the time is right for fair and sensible welfare policies that make work pay and eliminate hunger. As Bob Geldof said this week, 'charity is always worth it, but it can never deal with the structure of poverty. That's politics.'"
Sue Cox is executive director of the Daily Bread Food Bank in Toronto.
Source:
The Toronto Star

Who's Hungry: 2005 Profile of Hunger in the Greater Toronto Area (PDF file - 393K, 28 pages)
June 07, 2005
"Daily Bread Food Bank insists that charitable food relief programs are only a temporary solution to hunger. Food banks have consistently advocated that government programs ensure a decent standard of living for everyone. Despite this work, food banks are still entrenched as a necessary social service for low-income people, compensating for the government cutbacks of the 1990s and the increasingly tenuous labour market."

Survey results indicate drastic overhaul of social assistance required (PDF file - 60K, 2 pages)
Report looks at who’s hungry in Toronto in 2005 and how to help them
News Release
June 7, 2005
"TORONTO, ON – Thirty-four per cent of people on Ontario Works are discouraged from working because of the deduction of employment income from their social assistance, according to the results of Daily Bread’s 2005 survey of people relying upon food banks. As a result, just thirteen per cent of this group reports work income (virtually identical to the 14% who do so across the province). The loss of dental and drug benefits is another major barrier to getting back to work as shown by the experience of people relying upon food banks who are working full-time—46 per cent of them have no dental coverage and only 43 per cent have an employer drug plan."

Rebuilding Lives:
Taking children off welfare and encouraging their parents to work (PDF file - 390K, 18 pages)
March 15, 2005
"Daily Bread's detailed proposal on the best way for the provincial government to keep its promise to end the clawback of the National Child Benefit Supplement from social assistance cheques. To do so, it recommends changing how social assistance benefits are calculated so that adults have a greater incentive to work their way off welfare and their children receive the NCBS whether their parents are on or off welfare."

Governments Failing Newcomers:
Highly Skilled Immigrants Being Forced to Use Food Banks (PDF file - 26K, 4 pages)
March 26, 2005
"Preliminary results from the 2005 Annual Survey on skilled immigrants being forced to rely upon foodbanks to survive in Toronto. This report builds a strong and compelling case for greater financial support from the federal government to help the province of Ontario aid immigrant settlement to quicken the pace of their integration into the Canadian economy--benefitting both the immigrants and the long-term health of the Canadian economy."

Housing Report Update: Rising Food Bank Use Linked to Tenant Protection Act (PDF file - 142K, 3 pages)
Toronto
November 02, 2004
"Daily Bread has taken a closer look at our research statistics to determine the correlation between rent increases and food bank use. The results are included in the attached an update to our August report on housing. The data shows that there is a strong link between rising food bank use and the Tenant Protection Act. "

How much difference would the NCBS make for food bank families? (PDF file - 138K, 2 pages)
A review of the impact of the "clawback" of the National Child Benefit Supplement is affecting children whose families are on social assistance
Research Bulletin #4
Toronto
August 31, 2004
"...it is possible to extrapolate that approximately 13,500 children in the Greater Toronto Area alone would no longer need to use a food bank if their families received the National Child Benefit Supplement."
Source:
Publications
[ Daily Bread Food Bank ]

Somewhere to Live or Something to Eat: Housing Issues of Food Bank Clients in the Greater Toronto Area
August 2, 2004
- based on housing statistics from the Daily Bread Food Bank's Annual Survey of Food Bank Clients.
"This 22-page paper looks at the key housing issues affecting food bank clients. Set against the context of the Welfare Rates cut in 1995 and the Tenant Protection Act in 1998, the paper focuses on rent and income problems many food bank clients are facing now. (...) It is particularly timely given that the Ontario government has just completed its consultation process for new landlord-tenant legislation and is currently engaged in writing a new act in which new rent control guidelines will be established. This paper should be viewed as a contribution to that process."

Complete Report (PDF file - 766K, 22 pages)
Summary of Housing Report (PDF file - 24K, 2 pages)

July 20, 2004
Who's Who? (PDF file - 56K, 1 page)
"This profile of food bank clients looks specifically at family groups, sources of income, immigration and gender by age. This information is collected from our 2004 Annual Survey."

June 21, 2004
Who’s Hungry? (PDF file - 39K, 1 page)
"This updated fact sheet answers the question Who’s hungry? by examining data provided by Daily Bread’s annual survey of food recipients. The report provides statistics on the issues impacting low-income people in the GTA."

Disabled demand aid from province
Short of food following blackout
August 27, 2003
By Kevin Connor
"Low-income, disabled shut-ins say they are the forgotten souls after last week's blackout. Because government offices were closed last week, they couldn't receive assistance from the
Ontario Disability Support Program office."
Source: Toronto Sun

Sample reports from 2000, 2001

Government Fails the Test: Most Welfare Recipients Aren’t Using Drugs (PDF) - Spring 2001

A Report From the 2001 Survey of Food Recipients
How Food Recipients Deal With Poverty (PDF) - April 16, 2001
Who's Hungry Now? (PDF) - April 14, 2001
Looking After Our Kids (PDF) - April 13, 2001
Working Harder, Falling Behind (PDF) - April 12, 2001

Hunger in Ontario in the Year 2000 : Common, but Senseless (PDF file - 50K, 12 pages)
Prepared for the Ontario Association of Food Banks
October 2000
- includes statistical data on food bank use in Ontario during March 2000 and an opinion poll (June 2000) on the opinions of Ontarians regarding hunger and food banks and who is responsible for solving the hunger problem.

Seniors Losing Ground in Poverty Battle: A Stealth attack on Seniors (PDF) - April 20002002 Publications (all released in April 2002):
No Money, No Food (PDF file - 19K, 3 pages)
Poorer People, Poorer Health (PDF file - 57K, 2 pages)
Hunger Scandal Sheet (PDF file - 21K, 2 pages)
Who's Hungry Now? (PDF file - 30K, 3 pages)

Government Fails the Test: Most Welfare Recipients Aren’t Using Drugs (PDF) - Spring 2001

How Food Recipients Deal With Poverty (PDF) - April 16, 2001
Who's Hungry Now? (PDF) - April 14, 2001
Looking After Our Kids (PDF) - April 13, 2001
Working Harder, Falling Behind (PDF) - April 12, 2001

Seniors Losing Ground in Poverty Battle: A Stealth attack on Seniors (PDF) - April 2000

Ontario Association of Food Banks
All activities of the Ontario Association of Food Banks (OAFB) are guided by a clear vision : to help food banks relieve hunger in Ontario.

Selected reports:

Ontario Hunger Report 2008: The Leading Edge of the Storm (PDF - 2MB, 24 pages)
December 2008
"(...) Key Trends:
1. Hundreds of thousands of Ontarians are forced to turn to food banks every month.
2. Working Ontarians, Ontario’s children, and Ontarians with disabilities are hit hard by hunger.
3. We have witnessed an alarming increase in the number of Ontarians turning to food banks this fall.
4. The price of food and energy has risen substantially in the past year and is the likely cause of increased usage coupled with economic decline.
5. Many food banks are struggling to meet demand."

The Cost of Poverty: An Analysis of
the Economic Cost of Poverty in Ontario (PDF - 1.3MB, 36 pages)
November 2008
By Nathan Laurie
Key Facts:
* Poverty disproportionately affects certain populations, and has a complex mix of institutional and individual causes.
* Poverty has a price tag for all Ontarians.
* The cost of poverty is reflected in remedial, intergenerational, and opportunity costs.
* Reducing poverty with targeted policies and investments over the life course generates an economic return. This return is equal to a proportion of the assessed cost of poverty.

Related link:

Everyone pays the province's $38 billion cost
Toll of health care, crime, social assistance $2,900 per household, economic analysis finds
November 20, 2008
By Laurie Monsebraaten
Poverty costs Ontario a staggering $38 billion a year – and we all pay the price, says a new report that offers the first-ever analysis of the problem's economic impact on everyone. Although the province's 905,000 poorest households bear the brunt of the cost, everyone feels the pinch, says the report written by a group of leading economic and public policy experts to be released at Queen's Park today.
Source:
Toronto Star

Ontario's Food Banks present plan to cut poverty in half by 2020
News Release
August 19, 2008
The Ontario Association of Food Banks (OAFB) released a new report today, entitled Our Choice for a Better Ontario, in response to a call for submissions from the provincial government's Cabinet Committee on Poverty Reduction. The report sets a goal of cutting poverty in half by 2020 through a renewed investment by the federal and provincial governments.

Complete report:

Our Choice for a Better Ontario:
A Plan to Cut Poverty in Half by 2020 (PDF - 1.4MB, 64 pages)
August 2008 (PDF file date)
"(...) Our challenge is great. Hunger and poverty disproportionately affects certain populations and places in Ontario. Ontario’s economy is also in a period of significant transition. Hundreds of thousands of Ontarians lack the basics of life, including food, shelter, and education. We believe that our universal goal must be to cut poverty in half by 2020, with a focus on reducing the deepest poverty. In order to meet this goal, we have established twelve supportive goals focusing on key sectors, people, and places. "
- goals cover the following areas:
* Housing * Education * Financial Inclusion * Employment & Enterprise * Energy * Health * Neighbourhoods and communities * New Canadians * Single parents * First Nations * Ontarians with Disabilities * Children

Related link:

We must spend to fight poverty: report
Low-fee credit unions for the poor and a plan to help low-income households pay for heat and hydro are among a broad series of initiatives needed to fight poverty in Ontario, say the province's food banks in a report released recently. Cutting poverty in half by 2020 would lift more than half a million Ontarians out of poverty and should be the McGuinty government's "commitment of a generation," says the report by the Ontario Association of Food Banks.
Source:
Sudbury Star
September 2, 2008

Food banks warn of `growing storm'
Government must act as prices rise, report says
June 26, 2008
By Laurie Monsebraaten
Ontario's weakening economy coupled with the rising cost of food, fuel and energy should be a "wake-up call" to action on poverty reduction in both Ottawa and at Queen's Park, say the province's food banks. The federal government must increase employment insurance benefits and expand eligibility for Ontarians, where currently just 27 per cent of unemployed workers qualify, says the report to be released today by the Ontario Association of Food Banks.

Complete report:

A Gathering Storm: The Price of Food, Gasoline, and Energy,
and Changing Economic Conditions in Ontario, 2008 (PDF - 1.2MB, 24 pages)

Related links:

World Hunger Education Service (WHES)
For the past 34 years, since its founding in 1976, the mission of World Hunger Education Service is to undertake programs, including Hunger Notes (see the next link below), which:
* inform the community of people interested in issues of hunger and poverty, the public, and policymakers, about the causes, extent, and efforts to end hunger and poverty in the United States and the world.
* further understanding, which integrates ethical, religious, social, economic, political, and scientific perspectives on hunger and poverty.
* facilitate communication and networking among those who are working for solutions.
* promote individual and collective commitment to solutions to the hunger and poverty that confront hundreds of millions of the people of the world.

World Hunger Notes - An online publication of the World Hunger Education Service

Sesame Street’s newest Muppet is poor and hungry
New Sesame Street muppet Lily will be introduced in a one-hour primetime special on Oct. 9.
Iconic children's show Sesame Street has introduced a new character so young people can learn about the issues of poverty and hunger.
October 4, 2011
At a time when the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates nearly one in four American children – an estimated 17 million – may be going hungry, Sesame Street is introducing Lily, a new character who will highlight their plight.
Source:
Toronto.com

BRAVO, Sesame Street!

[United States]

Trends in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
Participation Rates: 2002 – 2009
Summary (PDF - 63K, 2 pages)
Complete report (PDF - 6.3MB, 131 pages)
August 2011
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) [formerly known as the Food Stamp program] helps low-income individuals purchase food so that they can obtain a nutritious diet. One important measure of program performance is the ability to reach its target population, as indicated by the percentage of people eligible for benefits who actually participate. This report is the latest in a series on SNAP participation rates. Estimates are based on the March 2010 Current Population Survey and program administrative data for Fiscal Year (FY) 2009. The findings represent national participation rates for FY 2009.
Source:
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
We help put healthy food on the table for over 40 million people each month.
[ Office of Research and Analysis ]
[ Food and Nutrition Service ]
[ U.S. Department of Agriculture ]
NOTE : Click any of the source links above to browse related research reports and more...

Related link:

More Americans Hungry For Food Stamps
By Marilyn Geewax
About 46 million people get government help in the form of food stamps when buying food. That's roughly 15 percent of the population.
This week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is expected to release its latest update on the food stamp program [see the link above]. It's an important indicator of the nation's economic health — and the prognosis is not good. Food stamp use is up 70 percent over the past four years and that trend is expected to continue.

The spike began in late-2008 and early-2009 when the worst of the recession was triggering massive layoffs and home foreclosures. Although the economy has been growing since mid-2009, the pace has been too slow to absorb the nearly 14 million people without jobs. Nearly half of those have been out of work more than six months.

As a result, the number of people seeking federal help with groceries has been soaring. At this time four years ago, before the recession hit, about 27 million people were using food stamps. Today 46 million get help through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — what most people call food stamps — which is roughly 15 percent of the population.
Source:
National Public Radio (NPR)
A thriving media organization at the forefront of digital innovation, NPR creates and distributes award-winning news, information, and music programming to a network of 900 independent stations. Through them, NPR programming reaches 26.8 million listeners every week.

TED - Ideas worth spreading [Technology, Entertainment, Design] - link added to this site August 1, 2011
TED is a nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. Since then its scope has become ever broader. (...) The annual TED conferences bring together the world's most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes or less). On TED.com, we make the best talks and performances from TED and partners available to the world, for free. More than 900 TEDTalks are now available, with more added each week. All of the talks are subtitled in English, and many are subtitled in various languages.

Themes
- include * Technology * Entertainment * Design * Business * Science * Culture * Arts * Global issues

TED Talks - 997 talks!

Selected TED Talks (from the above link):

Josette Sheeran: Ending hunger now (video, duration 19:10)
Josette Sheeran, the head of the UN's World Food Program, talks about why, in a world with enough food for everyone, people still go hungry, still die of starvation, still use food as a weapon of war. Her vision: "Food is one issue that cannot be solved person by person. We have to stand together."

October 11, 2010

2010 Global Hunger Index
The challenge of hunger: Focus on the crisis of child undernutrition
As the world approaches the 2015 deadline for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – which include a goal of reducing the proportion of hungry people by half – the 2010 Global Hunger Index (GHI) offers a useful and multidimensional overview of global hunger. The 2010 GHI shows some improvement over the 1990 GHI, falling by almost one-quarter. Nonetheless, the index for hunger in the world remains at a level characterized as “serious.” The result is unsurprising given that the overall number of hungry people surpassed 1 billion in 2009, even though it decreased to 925 million in 2010, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- includes links to a half-dozen related resources

Improve Child Nutrition to Reduce Global Hunger, Says New Global Hunger Index
Press Release
October 11, 2010

Complete report:

2010 Global Hunger Index
The Challenge of Hunger:
Focus on the Crisis of Child Undernutrition (PDF - 3.4MB, 56 pages)
October 2010

Background Facts and Key Findings

Source:
International Food Policy Research Institute
The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) seeks sustainable solutions for ending hunger and poverty. IFPRI is one of 15 centers supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), an alliance of 64 governments, private foundations, and international and regional organizations.

New at the
International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI):

Food Security Portal
This open access policy information portal has been established to provide comprehensive and detailed information country-by-country on food policy developments. We note that currently a lot of information is being collected in an un-coordinated fashion by different international and regional organizations. This portal is designed to pool such information in structured ways and check for data quality and relevance.

The portal will contain relevant food crisis response information initially on its 20 partner countries (mostly in Sub-Sahara Africa, but also in Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean) and shall be expanded beyond these pre-selected countries in the context of the project.

The Food Security Portal is facilitated by the
International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)

U.S. Department of Agriculture Report Outlines Food Access in America
Study Underscores the Important Role of Federal Nutrition Assistance Programs
News Release
November 15, 2010
USDA Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services Kevin Concannon emphasized the results of an annual report released today by USDA's Economic Research Service that demonstrate that federal nutrition assistance food programs are providing a valuable safety net to the most vulnerable Americans. The report "Food Security in the United States 2009" found that 17.4 million households in America had difficulty providing enough food due to a lack of resources, about the same as in 2008.

Household Food Security in the United States, 2009
By Mark Nord, Alisha Coleman-Jensen, Margaret Andrews, and Steven Carlson
November 2010
Report Summary - HTML
Complete report (PDF (685K, 68 pages)

Key Statistics and Graphs

Additional Resources

Food Security in the United States

Related media coverage:

Record Number of U.S. Households Face Hunger
By Pam Fessler
November 15, 2010
The number of Americans who struggled to get enough food last year remained at a record high, according to a report released Monday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. More than 50 million Americans lived in households that had a hard time getting enough to eat at least at some point during 2009. That includes 17 million children, and at least a half-million of those children faced the direst conditions. They had inadequate diets, or even missed meals, because their families didn't have enough money for food.
Source:
NPR (National Public Radio)

Food Research And Action Center
The Food Research and Action Center (FRAC), based in Washington DC, is "working to improve public policies and public-private partnerships to eradicate hunger and under-nutrition in the US...[as it] works with hundreds of national, state and local nonprofit organizations, public agencies, and corporations to address hunger and its root cause, poverty." Visitors to the FRAC website will find that the "Hunger in the U.S." link located in the middle green box on the homepage has a lot of good information on hunger that many people may be unfamiliar with, including a definition of "Hunger and Food Insecurity" and how it is typically measured. The link to the 2010 Anti-Hunger Policy Conference Presentations at the bottom left of the homepage allows visitors to view PowerPoint presentations on such topics as "Running on Empty: Nutritional Access for Children in Cook County, IL", "Making the Case for Anti-Hunger Priorities in Tight State Budgets", and "Obesity, Poverty and Hunger". The Disaster Food Resources link informs visitors of the extra food stamps made available to food stamp recipients in a disaster situation, as well as the disaster food stamps that are made available to those who do not normally receive food stamps.
Reviewed by:
The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2010.

More than 49 million Americans 'food insecure': study
September 2, 2010
WASHINGTON (AFP) - More than 49 million people in the United States do not have regular access to nutritious meals, putting them at risk for a raft of physical, psychological and social problems, a report said Thursday. Nearly 15 percent of households in the United States, representing 49.1 million individuals, experienced food insecurity sometime during 2008, the report published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association says.
Source:
Rogers/Yahoo! News

Related link:

Position of the American Dietetic Association: Food Insecurity in the United States
September 2010
(...)Negative nutrition and non–nutrition-related outcomes have been associated with food insecurity in children, adolescents, and adults, including substandard academic achievement, inadequate intake of key nutrients, poor health, increased risk for and development of chronic disease, poor disease management, and poor psychological and cognitive functioning.
Source:
Abstract
HTML / PDF Full text - if you click either of these links in box on the right-hand side of the page, you'll be asked to register your email with the Journal. When you do, you'll have free access to select full text articles, including the food insecurity article whose abstract appears above on the page you're now reading.

Source:
Journal of the American Dietetic Association
[ American Dietetic Association

From
The New York Times:

THE SAFETY NET:
Once Stigmatized, Food Stamps Find Acceptance
By Jason Deparle and Robert Gebeloff
February 10, 2010
A decade ago, New York City officials were so reluctant to give out food stamps, they made people register one day and return the next just to get an application. The welfare commissioner said the program caused dependency and the poor were “better off” without it.
Source:
The New York Times

Related NY Times coverage:

The Safety Net
(series of feature articles on poverty in New York)
With millions of jobs lost and major industries on the ropes, America’s array of government aid — including unemployment insurance, food stamps and cash welfare — is being tested as never before. This series examines how the safety net is holding up under the worst economic crisis in decades.

Other articles in this series:

* Living on Nothing but Food Stamps (January 3, 2010)
* Food Stamp Use Soars, and Stigma Fades (November 29, 2009)
* Jobless Checks for Millions Delayed as States Struggle (July 24, 2009)
* Slumping Economy Tests Aid System Tied to Jobs (June 1, 2009)
* For Victims of Recession, Patchwork State Aid (May 10, 2009

Related link:

United Nations World Food Programme
Among the Millennium Development Goals which the United Nations has set for the 21st century, halving the proportion of hungry people in the world is top of the list. (...) WFP is the United Nations frontline agency in the fight against global hunger.

Household Food Security in the United States, 2008
By Mark Nord, Margaret Andrews, and Steven Carlson
November 16, 2009
By Mark Nord, Margaret Andrews, and Steven Carlson
Eighty-five percent of American households were food secure throughout the entire year in 2008, meaning that they had access at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household members. The remaining households (14.6 percent) were food insecure at least some time during the year, including 5.7 percent with very low food security—meaning that the food intake of one or more household members was reduced and their eating patterns were disrupted at times during the year because the household lacked money and other resources for food.

USDA Report reveals highest rate of food insecurity since report was initiated in 1995
Economic Research Service Report Demonstrates Need for Action
News Release
WASHINGTON, November 16, 2009

Summary of the report (HTML)

Complete report (PDF - 403K, 66 pages)
November 2009
Download the complete report in one PDF file, or see the table of contents and download individual sections of the report (also in PDF format)
Table of contents:
* Abstract, Contents, and Summary
* Introduction
* Household Food Security
* Household Spending on Food
* Use of Federal and Community Food and Nutrition Assistance Programs
* References
* Appendix A—Household Responses to Questions in the Food Security Scale
* Appendix B—Background on the U.S. Food Security Measurement Project
* Appendix C—USDA’s Thrifty Food Plan
* Appendix D—Food Security During 30 Days Prior to the Food Security Survey

[ USDA Briefing Room: Food Security in the United States ]
[ Food Security in the United States: Recommended Readings - includes links to previous food security annual reports and technical reports]

Source:
Household Food Security in the United States
[ Economic Research Service ]
[ U.S. Dept of Agriculture ]

Related links:

America's economic pain brings hunger pangs
USDA report on access to food 'unsettling,' Obama says
By Amy Goldstein
November 17, 2009
The nation's economic crisis has catapulted the number of Americans who lack enough food to the highest level since the government has been keeping track, according to a new federal report, which shows that nearly 50 million people -- including almost one child in four -- struggled last year to get enough to eat. At a time when rising poverty, widespread unemployment and other effects of the recession have been well documented, the report released Monday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture provides the government's first detailed portrait of the toll that the faltering economy has taken on Americans' access to food
Source:
Washington Post

Newly Poor Swell Lines at Food Banks
By Julie Bosman
February 19, 2009
"(...) Demand at food banks across the country increased by 30 percent in 2008 from the previous year, according to a survey by Feeding America [formerly America's Second Harvest], which distributes more than two billion pounds of food every year. And instead of their usual drop in customers after the holidays, many pantries in upscale suburbs this year are seeing the opposite.
Source:
The New York Times

America’s Second Harvest has changed its name to Feeding America.

America's Second Harvest Changes Name to Feeding America
Nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief charity changes its name to better engage the public in the fight against hunger
Chicago
September 5, 2008
Effective immediately, America’s Second Harvest—The Nation’s Food Bank Network, an organization of more than 200 food banks that provide food and grocery products to food pantries, soup kitchen and other emergency food agencies across the country, will become Feeding America. The primary objective of the branding change is to more fully engage the public in the fight against hunger.

Feeding America
This new name best conveys our mission—providing food to Americans living with hunger—and will be supported through expansive public outreach campaigns that will raise awareness of domestic hunger and our work.

24 April 2008 - CRINMAIL 977- Special Edition on Food
* Introduction: What do soaring food prices mean for children?
* The Right to Food - and what a rights-based approach means
* Publications and factsheets
* News stories
* Organisation websites
**Other news**
**Quiz special on the Right to Food**
Source:
CRINMAIL(incl. subscription info)
[ Child Rights Information Network (CRIN) ]

U.S. Mayors examine causes of hunger, homelessness (small PDF file - 2 pages)
News release
December 17, 2007
Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Conference of Mayors and Sodexho, Inc. released today the results of its 2007 Hunger and Homelessness Survey at a press conference at the Conference of Mayors Headquarters in Washington, D.C. For more than 21 years, the Conference of Mayors has documented the magnitude of the issues of hunger and homelessness in our nation’s cities. This report provides an analysis of the scale of the problem in twenty-three of America’s major cities (listed below) and the efforts these cities are making to address the issue.
Source:
The U.S. Conference of Mayors
Sodexho USA

Complete report:

2007 U.S. Hunger and Homelessness Report (PDF file - 983K, 72 pages)
December 2007

One in Eight U.S. Households with Infants is Food Insecure
New Report Links Food Insecurity to Maternal Depression,
Poor Parenting, and Overweight Toddlers
Press Release
July 12, 2007
Washington, DC – One in eight U.S. households with infants (12.5 percent) reports being “food insecure”, according to a new analysis by Child Trends. “Food insecure” is defined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to be “limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods."
- the brief also links food insecurity with maternal depression, poor parenting, and-paradoxically-overweight toddlers.

Related Research Briefing based on the report:

Food Insecurity and Overweight among Infants and
Toddlers: New Insights into a Troubling Linkage (PDF file - 178K, 6 pages)
By Jacinta Bronte-Tinkew, Ph.D., Martha Zaslow, Ph.D., Randolph Cappsa , Ph.D., and Allison Horowitz, B.A.
July 2007
"(...) This Research Brief is based on a forthcoming paper in the Journal of Nutrition titled “Food Insecurity Works Through Depression, Parenting and Infant Feeding to Influence Overweight and Health in Toddlers,” co-authored by the same group as the research briefing."

Source:
Child Trends
Founded in 1979, Child Trends is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research center serving those dedicated to creating better lives for children and youth.

Related link:

The Challenge of Hunger 2008
October 14, 2008
Thirty-three countries have alarming or extremely alarming levels of hunger, according to the 2008 Global Hunger Index, released for World Food Day.
Source:
International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)
FPRI seeks sustainable solutions for ending hunger and poverty. IFPRI is one of 15 centers supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, an alliance of 64 governments, private foundations, and international and regional organizations.

Also from IFPRI:

Blog World Hunger
http://www.ifpriblog.org

-----

From the United Nations World Food Programme:

World Food Day reminder of daily crisis borne by millions, say UN officials
Josette Sheeran, WFP Executive Director
16 October 2008
As the eyes of the world continue to watch the ups and downs of global markets amid the current financial turmoil, United Nations officials are calling attention today to another global crisis – hunger – which affects millions daily and kills a child every six seconds.

World Food Day: 7 things to do
For WFP, every day is World Food Day
Rome, 15 October 2008
World Food Day is held every year on October 16 to mark the day that the UN Food and Agriculture Organization was founded in 1945. FAO was the first agency created by the United Nations to address global hunger. Among other things, World Food Day is an opportunity to learn about global hunger and join in the fight against it! Here are seven things you can do right now, without leaving your computer.
- includes the suggestion : "Play FreeRice" - try it!

Source:
United Nations World Food Programme (WFP)
Among the Millennium Development Goals which the United Nations has set for the 21st century, halving the proportion of hungry people in the world is top of the list. (...) WFP is the United Nations frontline agency in the fight against global hunger.

-----

* World Food Day - October 16
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations celebrates World Food Day each year on 16 October, the day on which the Organization was founded in 1945. The World Food Day and TeleFood theme for 2006 is "Investing in agriculture for food security".
Source:
Food and Agriculture Organization
of the United Nations (FAO)

Also from the FAO:

* FAO and the Millennium Development Goals
* World Agricultural Information Centre
* Telefood
* UN System Network on Rural Development and Food Security
* The State of Food and Agriculture 2005: Agricultural trade and poverty: Can trade work for the poor?
(FAO's annual report on current developments affecting world agriculture)

Also from the United Nations:

World Food Day - 6 October
World Food Day was proclaimed in 1979 by the Conference of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). It marks the date of the founding of FAO in 1945. The aim of the Day is to heighten public awareness of the world food problem and strengthen solidarity in the struggle against hunger, malnutrition and poverty. In 1980, the General Assembly endorsed observance of the Day in consideration of the fact that "food is a requisite for human survival and well-being and a fundamental human necessity" (resolution 35/70 of 5 December 1980). The theme for World Food Day and the TeleFood campaign for 2006 is "Investing in agriculture for food security" which highlights the need for increased resources to fight hunger.
- click the link above to access an impressive collection of relevant links (a few sample links appear below)
United Nations Global Issues on the UN Agenda: Food
Food Insecurity and Vulnerability Information and Mapping Systems
World Food Programme
Food Safety - from the World Health Organization
Food Security - Development Gateway
International Food Policy Research Institute
People and Planet - People and Food and Agriculture
More online food resources

world food day usa
World Food Day, October 16th, is a worldwide event designed to increase awareness, understanding and informed, year-around action to alleviate hunger.

World Food Day - from World Vision Canada

Hunger Relief Portal - Relief Organizations and Hunger Statistics
This site is a portal consisting of a listing of organizations involved in the elimination of hunger.
Articles on hunger and poverty are also presented, along with statistics on world hunger.

United Nations World Food Program
Interactive Hunger Map

New CDF Report: More Than 13 Million Children Face Food Insecurity -- U.S.
Press Release
June 2 2005
"According to the most recent figures from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 13.3 million American children were food insecure in 2003; of these, 420,000 lived in households where someone had to go hungry. Overall, 36.3 million Americans experienced food insecurity in 2003, 1.4 million more than in 2002, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture."

Complete report:

Food Insecurity 2005 (PDF file - 122K, 6 pages)

Source:
Children's Defense Fund

Hunger, homelessness on rise
December 15, 2004
"Hunger and homelessness continue to rise nationwide with requests for emergency food assistance increasing in 97 percent of the cities surveyed including Nashville, according to the Sodexho USA Hunger and Homelessness Survey. The U.S. Conference of Mayors released the 27-city survey in Washington, D.C., Tuesday. An average of 20 percent of the requests for food assistance have gone unmet and 78 percent of the surveyed cities reported a 7 percent increase in requests for shelter by homeless families."
Source:
Nashville City Paper Online

Hunger and Homelessness Survey: A Status Report
on Hunger and Homelessness in America’s Cities (PDF file - 810K, 133 pages)
December 2004
"To assess the status of hunger and homelessness in America’s cities during 2004, The U.S. Conference of Mayors surveyed 27 major cities whose mayors were members of its Task Force on Hunger and Homelessness. The survey sought information and estimates from each city on 1) the demand for emergency food assistance and emergency shelter and the capacity of local agencies to meet that demand; 2) the causes of hunger and homelessness and the demographics of the populations experiencing these problems; 3) exemplary programs or efforts in the cities to respond to hunger and homelessness; 4) the availability of affordable housing for low income people; and 5) the outlook or the future and the impact of the economy on hunger and homelessness."

Press Release (PDF file - 58K, 3 pages)
December 12, 2004

Source:
U.S. Conference of Mayors

And, from the "Every-Cloud-Has-A-Silver-Lining" crowd:

Survey: Good news in fight against hunger, homelessness
December 15, 2004
"Washington - Requests for emergency food and shelter increased in many large U.S. cities this year, but not by as much as in recent years, according to a survey released Tuesday. Requests for food rose by 14 percent, while appeals for shelter increased by 6 percent, said the annual report by the U.S. Conference of Mayors, based on surveys of 27 large cities. The numbers have risen every year since the conference began the survey 20 years ago. However, the rate of increase for food requests was the lowest since 1998. The rate of increase for shelter requests was less than half what it was in 2003, and the lowest since 1997.
Source:
The Plain Dealer

orld Hunger on the Rise
December 12, 2004
"As many of us head into a holiday season filled with good things to eat, the number of hungry people in the world remains high eight years after a United Nations pledge to halve world hunger. According to the U.N. Food and Agricultural Agency (FAO), which released its annual Hunger Report Wednesday, more than 5 million children die from hunger each year -- one every five seconds. The number of people who do not get enough to eat has increased to 852 million -- up 18 million from the 1990s, causing tremendous suffering and costing developing nations billions of dollars in lost productivity and national income."
Source:
PBS Newshour Extra

The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2004
"The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2004 reports on progress and setbacks in efforts to reach the goal set by the World Food Summit (WFS) in 1996 - to halve the number of chronically hungry people in the world by the year 2015.
Download Full Report (PDF file - 582K, 42 pages)
December 2004
Download Flyer (PDF file - 105K, 2 pages)

- incl.: Towards the World Food Summit target: confronting the crippling costs of hunger - Counting the hungry: latest estimates - The human costs of hunger: millions of lives destroyed by death and disability - The economic costs of hunger: billions in lost productivity, earnings and consumption - Measuring hunger: improving estimates to target more effective action - Hunger hotspots - Globalization, urbanization and changing food systems in developing countries - The impact of changing food systems on small farmers in developing countries - The changing profile of hunger and malnutrition - Acting to combat hunger - Factoring the resilience of food systems and communities into the response to protracted crises - Education for rural people and food security - Rice and food security - The way ahead: scaling up action to scale down hunger - Tables

Source:
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Recent Trends in Food Stamp Participation among Poor Families with Children
Discussion Paper
June 2004
"Food stamp caseloads increased dramatically between October 2002 and October 2003. Our results show that families recently on welfare were substantially more likely to participate in the Food Stamp program in 2002 than in 1997 or 1999. In contrast, participation rates for families with no cash welfare experience, the largest share of poor families with children, remained quite low throughout the period. The new program rules and procedures did not affect their participation. The low current incomes and economic hardship of nonparticipating families indicate the food stamps would benefit these families substantially. States could encourage more families to take advantage of food stamps by strengthening public outreach and simplifying their programs."

Complete report (PDF file - 100K, 38 pages)

Source:
Assessing the New Federalism
[ The Urban Institute ]

Highlights of the Child Nutrition and
Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children Reauthorization Act of 2004
July 8, 2004
"On Wednesday, June 30, 2004, President Bush signed the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 into law (Public Law 108-265). The Act expands the availability of nutritious meals and snacks to more children in school, in outside school hours programs, and in child care; and improves the quality of food in schools."

Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act Section-by-Section from the Congressional Research Service (PDF file - 373K, 53 pages)
July 16, 2004

Federal Food Programs in the U.S
- incl. links to info about : Food Stamp Program - National School Lunch Program - School Breakfast Program - Summer Food Service Program for Children - Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants & Children - Child and Adult Care Food Program - The Emergency Food Assistance Program - Community Food and Nutrition Program - Resources to assist afterschool and summer programs in using the child nutrition programs
- also incl. State Profiles (Choose a state to view a profile of the Federal Food Programs in the state)and a National Profile.

Source:
Current News & Analyses
[ Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) ]

Related Links:

Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act
Bill Summary
Updated June 24, 2004
"The federal government invests more than $16 billion annually in child nutrition programs under the Child Nutrition Act, Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act, and related programs. On June 24, 2004, the House overwhelmingly approved the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act, a House-Senate consensus forged to strengthen these programs and improve their effectiveness for America’s most vulnerable children. “This is the most far-reaching child nutrition bill in a generation,” said Barry Sackin of the American School Food Service Association (ASFSA) in a recent interview with Education Daily."
Source:
Committee on Education and the Workforce
(U.S. House of Representatives)

Google.ca News Search Results : "Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act"
Google.ca Web Search Results : "Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act"
Source:
Google.ca

Modernization of Food Stamp Program Almost Complete - U.S.
June 25, 2004

Food Stamp Program Goes Electronic
Food-Bank Comment Causes Furor
NPR: Commentary: Food Stamps and Medicare
USDA: Food Stamp Program
The WIC Program: Background, Trends, and Issues
A Guide to Food Stamp Program Outreach

"Started in 1939, the food stamp program administered by the United States Department of Agriculture is one of the entitlement programs designated to provide a safety net for Americans. The program enjoys some of the greatest bipartisan support and continues to be immensely successful. Earlier this week, the Department of Agriculture announced that the paper stamps which have been issued under the program for over six decades will be completely phased out later this month and replaced by a plastic card that operates in the same fashion as a bank debit card. As part of this transformation of the program, the Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman has commented that the Agriculture Department will be asking for suggestions for a new name for the food stamp program, a move that may also reduce some of the stigma that has been associated with this extremely valuable initiative in the past. Currently only six counties in California and the U.S. territory of Guam still use the paper food stamps. The usually staid Department of Agriculture has also been in the news as of late due to a comment made by a senior official in that government office who noted in an interview that people who eat at food banks are "taking the easy way out." Several elected officials from the state of Ohio took great exception to his comment, remarking in a letter sent to his office that "You have displayed a disparaging attitude toward the victims of hunger and an astonishing lack of awareness of what is happening beyond the Beltway." [KMG]

The first link leads to a news piece from the Washington Post that discusses the modernization of the delivery system for food stamps in detail. The second link will take visitors to a news brief from MSNBC that provides a summary of the debate surrounding the recent comment made by a senior official at the Department of Agriculture regarding the use of food banks. The third link leads to a 3-minute audio feature from NPR on the continuing popularity of food stamp programs across the United States, reported by the venerable Daniel Schorr. The fourth link leads to the official United States Department of Agriculture website about the food stamp program, complete with eligibility details and research reports on the effectiveness of the program. The fifth link leads to an October 2002 report on the continued success of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (known colloquially as WIC), which "safeguards the health of low-income women, infants, and children up to age 5 who are at nutrition risk." The last and final link leads to a site that provides some fine information on the various food stamp benefit program outreach activities that are intended to provide information on eligibility and benefits, with the primary goal of increasing the participation rate amongst those eligible parties."
Review by The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2003

Characteristics of Food Stamp Households: Fiscal Year 2002
December 2003
Source:
Mathematica Policy Research

From the U.S. Conference of Mayors:

U.S. Conference of Mayors - Sodexho Hunger and Homelessness Survey 2003
Hunger, Homelessness Still On the Rise in Major U.S. Cities; 25-City Survey Finds Unemployment, Lack of Affordable Housing Account for Increased Needs
Press Release
December 18, 2003
"Washington, DC -- Hunger and homelessness continued to rise in major American cities over the last year, according to the new U.S. Conference of Mayors-Sodexho Hunger and Homelessness Survey, released today at the Conference of Mayors Headquarters. As the overall economy remained weak, requests for emergency food assistance increased by an average of 17 percent over the past year, and requests for emergency shelter assistance increased by an average of 13 percent in the 25 cities surveyed."

Hunger and Homelessness Survey:
A Status Report on Hunger and Homelessness in America’s Cities
A 25-City Survey (PDF file - 802K, 121 pages)
December 2003

Sources:
U.S. Conference of Mayors
Sodexho USA "the leading provider of food and facilities management in the United States"

The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2003
November 2003
- Table of Contents and acknowledgements
- Flyer (PDF file - 91K, 4 pages)
- Complete report (PDF file - 369K, 40 pages)
- News Release (November 25, 2003)
Source:
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Created in 1945, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has a mandate "to raise levels of nutrition and standards of living, to improve agricultural productivity, and to better the condition of rural populations.(...) FAO has 183 member countries plus one member organization, the European Community. Since its inception, FAO has worked to alleviate poverty and hunger by promoting agricultural development, improved nutrition and the pursuit of food security - defined as the access of all people at all times to the food they need for an active and healthy life."

Food Stamp Participation Jumps in August 2003 to Almost 22.4 Million Persons;
Is Almost 5.5 Million Persons Higher Than in July 2000
Curent News and Analysis
November 7, 2003
- includes Food Stamp Program Participation Data in August 2003 compared with last month, last year and five years ago; also includes links to almost a dozen related online resources.
Source:
Food Research and Action Center
Related Link:
FRAC News Digest - "...highlights what's new on hunger, nutrition and poverty issues at FRAC, at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, around the network of national, state and local anti-poverty and anti-hunger organizations, and in the media."
News Digest Archives - links to almost 100 newsletters back to January 2002, each containing links to further resources

Food Stamp Program [ Food and Nutrition Service, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture ]
"The Food Stamp Program serves as the first line of defense against hunger. It enables low-income families to buy nutritious food with coupons and Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards."
- incl. info for : Applicants & Recipients - Retailers - Governments - Researchers - Public Advocacy Groups

Household Food Security in the United States, 2002
October 2003
Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Report
"Eighty-nine percent of American households were food secure throughout the entire year 2002, meaning that they had access, at all times, to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household members. The remaining households were food insecure at least some time during that year. The prevalence of food insecurity rose from 10.7 percent in 2001 to 11.1 percent in 2002, and the prevalence of food insecurity with hunger rose from 3.3 percent to 3.5 percent. This report is based on data from the December 2002 food security survey."
Summary of Study Findings (PDF file - 73K, 2 pages)
Table of contents + links to all chapters and appendices
Complete report (PDF file - 421K, 58 pages)
Source:
Economic Research Service
[ U.S. Department of Agriculture ]

International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) (Washington-Based)
"The mission of the International Food Policy Research Institute is to identify and analyze policies for sustainably meeting the food needs of the developing world. Research at IFPRI concentrates on economic growth and poverty alleviation in low-income countries, improvement of the well-being of poor people, and sound management of the natural resource base that supports agriculture."
- focus on Central and South America, the Middle East, Africa and Asia

Global Food Crises
Monitoring and Assessing Impact to Inform Policy Responses
Food Policy Report No. 19
By Todd Benson et al.
September 2008
Executive Summary
Complete report (PDF - 658K 52 pages)

[ earlier food policy reports ]
[ all IFPRI Publications ]

Source:
International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)
FPRI seeks sustainable solutions for ending hunger and poverty. IFPRI is one of 15 centers supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, an alliance of 64 governments, private foundations, and international and regional organizations.

Source:
Economic Research Service (ERS)
[ U.S. Department of Agriculture ]

Federal Nutrition Programs Making Record
Difference for Families, Children and Elderly
Press Release
February 23, 2005
"FRAC Finds National and State Performance Gaps Remain;
Warns Budget Cut Proposals Could Add to Hunger"

Complete report:

State of the States: 2005
A Profile of Food and Nutrition Programs Across the Nation (PDF file - 469K, 86 pages)
February 2005
"Millions of American families are struggling with low and stagnant wages, rising energy, housing and child care costs, and shrinking employer-based health coverage. The growth in the use of nutrition programs is helping desperate families cope with the erosion of other private and public supports - - but they can only help so much. The programs can’t wholly replace lagging wages and benefits. And the amounts of assistance which the nutrition programs provide often are not adequate. Food stamps, for example, provide benefits at a level that can not deliver adequate nutrition throughout the month to a typical low-income family."

Source:
Food Research and Action Center
"The Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) is a leading national organization working to improve public policies to eradicate hunger and undernutrition in the United States. Founded in 1970 as a public interest law firm, FRAC is a nonprofit and nonpartisan research and public policy center that serves as the hub of an anti-hunger network of thousands of individuals and agencies across the country."

From the U.S. Conference of Mayors:

Hunger, Homelessness On the Rise in Major U.S. Cities
Mayors' 25-City Survey Finds High Housing Costs, Weak Economy Increase Need
2002 Hunger/Homelessness Report Released
Press Release
December 18, 2002
"As housing costs continued to rise faster than incomes and the national economy remained weak, requests for emergency food assistance increased an average of 19 percent over the past year, according to a 25-city survey released today by the U.S. Conference of Mayors. The survey also found that requests for emergency shelter assistance grew an average of 19 percent in the 18 cities that reported an increase, the steepest rise in a decade."
Full Report (PDF file - 1MB, 141 pages)

Mayors Call to Action (PDF file - 17K, 2 pages)
Other Sources of Information - PDF file - 18K, 1 page)
Supporting studies and reports on hunger and homelessness from six organizations, from the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture to the National Coalition for the Homeless
Sample:
Household Food Security in the United States, 2001 (U.S. Department of Agriculture)
Released November 2002
"The number of food-insecure households increased 9.4% from 10.5 million in 1999 to 11.5 million in 2001."

Related Links:

17th Annual Survey of Hunger and Homelessness in America's Cities
December 12, 2001
Press Release
Full Report (PDF file - 400K, 137 pages)
...or click on the Press Release link above and select from the following files : Summary - Hunger - Homelessness - Housing - Outlook
16th Annual Survey on Hunger and Homelessness in America's Cities (December 14, 2000)

World Food Summit - Five Years Later (Rome, 10-13 June 2002)
- incl. links to : Daily Journal - From the podium* - Documents - Summit news - Related events - Focus on the issues - Audio/video - Photo gallery - Practical information - Related links - In the headlines - Media contacts
*From the podium - in this section of the World Food Summit site, you'll find a complete list of speeches by representatives of most participating countries - over 200 links, including...
His Excellency Lyle Vanclief (Minister for Agriculture and Agri-Food, Canada)