FoodBruceGrey.com

Paul Wagenaar

WHAT & WHERE

  • FOODBRUCEGREY.COM is a tool.
  • A tool designed to measure the size and scope of the food insecurity issue in Bruce/Grey.
  • A tool designed to inform, educate, and correct misconceptions.
  • It is a tool available 24/7 to politicians and decisions makers at all levels.
  • It is a tool available 24/7 to local, provincial, and national media.
  • It is a tool available to the general public and the 50+ organizations who provide the data that fuels conversations about this issue and solutions as well.
  • This tool is unique to Bruce/Grey and other communities across the country are interested in building a version for their communities.

 WHY

  • Food Insecurity is a largely hidden issue in most communities.
  • In rural Ontario, in particular in Bruce/Grey, most people can’t imagine the size and scope of this issue.  This region has healthy towns, vibrant industries, thousands of acres of farmland, and is a prime vacation destination. 
  • To show politicians, the media, and the public the number of people who are food insecure.  As well as to inform about the incredible work being done by those people serving vulnerable members of our communities.
  • To educate people that Food insecurity is a symptom of poverty and is severely compounded by the lack of affordable and safe housing. 
  • To demonstrate at a time of skyrocketing housing prices and the lack of rental housing, many people are spending 80-100% of their income on simply having a roof over their heads leaving virtual nothing left for food.  Many people believe that food banks only help “homeless people” when in fact increasingly; people needing support are what was once defined as “middle-class” in addition to low-income people.
  • To inform our population of almost 160,000 people spread over an area of the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) that there is a significant issue with people not having enough to eat. 
  • This tool has sparked conversations about issues facing food insecure people and those organizations that exist to help them:
    • The stigma some food insecure people have about receiving assistance;
    • The stigma some volunteers and the public have about “who is deserving” and “who is not;”
    • Funding or the lack of consistent funding to ensure programming doesn’t arbitrarily come to an end while the need still exists;
    • Transportation and Logistics to move food to where it is needed and to food insecure people who are isolated;
    • Food Rescue and the importance of trying to divert more of the 58% of the food produced in Canada that ends up being wasted;
    • The importance of building more collaboration and sharing of resources/ideas between food banks, meals programs, and community gardens.

WHEN

  • This tool was the result of a conversation between the United Way of Bruce Grey and the Nuclear Innovations Institute (NNI) of Bruce Power.
  • NNI engaged NPX who actualized the idea and in less than 6 weeks took the concept and made it a reality.”

WHO

  • In Bruce Grey, there are 22 Food Banks, 19 Community Meal Programs, and 15 Community Gardens. 
  • There are a handful of paid staff, but the vast majority of people are volunteers.
  • The majority of these volunteers are senior citizens. 
  • Local Public Health was invaluable to providing guidance and procedures to allow these essential volunteers to meet the increased demand for food. 
  • The website was designed to accommodate whatever data points each organization collected, some have sophisticated spreadsheets and some just a manual method and have only recently begun to use emails.  For any organization, we will enter their data for them.
  • While most people are familiar with the excellent work being done by front-line health care workers and other essential workers, the vast majority of people are unaware of the hundreds of volunteers and staff who dedicate their time to helping vulnerable people in our communities.

WHAT WE ARE LEARNING …

  • Demand for community meal programs has exploded with more than a 300% increase in meals since the start of the pandemic.
  • Demand for meal programs continues to climb, with many groups working beyond their capacity and with little or no breaks.  One meal program director only had 1 day off in 2020.
  • More and more community partners are supporting “Food Rescue” programs, formal and informal, to divert fresh produce to meal programs so that the food can be used and shared throughout Bruce/Grey.
  • Food Bank use continues to increase.  With demographic information now available a variety of organizations have already benefited from having real numbers to utilize for programming and resource deployment.
  • Community Garden groups have been provided with support and weigh scales so that people that are more vulnerable are getting fresh produce.
  • The tool also measures contributions from area farmers, who are donating surplus foods and/or allowing “gleaning” programs to harvest food that would have previously been left unharvested.
  • The contributions of volunteers are now being measured.  Many food bank volunteers have upwards of 30 years experience and finally there is a way to show everyone the enormous amount of work they have done to assist their neighbours.
  • The tool is being presented to more and more municipal councils who are listening, acting, and posting links to be able to utilize the data and to encourage more groups to cooperate.

HOW YOU CAN HELP …

  • Visit FOODBRUCEGREY.COM and check out the website.
  • Ask questions, become involved in the conversation and aware of the issues.
  • Check out FoodThoughts.ca for interesting and useful ideas about food insecurity and other resources on addressing Food Insecurity.
  • Remember Food Insecurity is a symptom of the over-arching problem of poverty and the lack of affordable and safe housing.  We need a two-pronged approach:  Continue to support our local food organizations, the food banks, the meal programs, and the community gardens network.  At the same time, lobby politicians/leaders/and decision-makers on the importance of safe and affordable housing.

Food Insecurity is a problem for everyone.  Everyone can be part of the solution.