Food insecurity in rural areas has many faces and takes many forms. It is too often diagnosed as a disease, when in reality it is only a symptom of the larger issues of poverty and lack of affordable and safe housing. Accepting this truth is only the first step in acknowledging that our rural communities experience more issues than simply food insecurity.
As Food Security Coordinator, I have learned about so much more than food insecurity. There are dedicated people and volunteers struggling against a host of largely hidden issues in their communities. In some areas, they hold their own, while in others they are fighting a good fight, but losing ground each day.
One of the greatest problems is a lack of awareness. At the risk of generalizing, our communities are composed of many people who seem blind to the fact – or at least unwilling to acknowledge it – that small-town rural Ontario is suffering from significant problems that do not fit the accepted image.
In an attempt to widen the spectrum of awareness, I would like to highlight a number of these issues; this list is only a sample of the many problems that exist in our rural areas.
Slavery and Human Rights Abuses
The tragic irony of recent emancipation anniversaries is that slavery still exists. Human trafficking has not ended, even in Canada. Vulnerable women living in low-income housing are being sex trafficked. Some women are being held in “trap houses” and threatened or blackmailed into staying. Suffering from substance abuse and other issues, some are told they have had microchips injected into their drugs so their dealers and pimps can track them with their cell phones if they try to escape.
We have a significant housing problem, and even those who work with vulnerable people are surprised at the number of women propositioned for sex by unscrupulous property owners when they are seeking a place to live, need repairs, or are having trouble paying rent.
Food Insecurity and Food Waste
It is a well-known fact that Canada is one of the world’s largest food producers. Many Canadians would be surprised to learn that 58% of all of the food produced here is wasted, according to Second Harvest Canada. Only now are many grocery stores and restaurants participating in Food Rescue programs that are helping to reduce this number. We still need more participants; too much food that could be used in meal programs is still going to waste.
Part of the 58% is the result of people not understanding the difference between expiry dates and “Best Before” dates. There are actually only five types of food that cannot be used after the date on the packaging Second Harvest Donation-Consumption-Guide. The rest can be safely used for much longer periods, but because people are misinformed, most of this perfectly good food goes straight to the landfill.
An elderly woman regularly eats cat food and refuses help under the belief “there are people who need help more than me.”
The reality is that many food banks limit hungry people to 3 or 4 days worth of food once per month.
The widespread belief of many government leaders is that food banks are the only solution to food insecurity, failing to acknowledge their issues such as limited hours and limited access, or the equally valuable contributions of meal programs and community gardens. For example, a small group of volunteers who provide a hot meal once per week to 150-200 people without fanfare or acknowledgement by the media, government, or the public. This group, after providing almost 9,000 meals since the start of the pandemic, when funding is available, are ignored because few are even aware of the work they do.
The lack of community awareness of the thousands of hours that volunteers provide with little or no recognition of their contribution to alleviating food insecurity, whether a food bank, meal program, or community garden.
Stigma
A small food bank that is so afraid of charity shaming over administrative costs that it allows its property owner to prevent their clients from visiting their facility.
A desperate woman afraid to fill out an application for a local food bank, afraid because her husband forbade her from going as he did not want anyone to know that he could not provide for his family.
Community gardens are a great source of fresh food and vegetables. They are also a great way to forge community links between different cultural groups. Unfortunately, in some areas, community gardens are threatened by short-sighted individuals who claim they bring smells, vermin, and unwanted birds to their neighbourhood.
Bureaucracy
A senior citizen is angry because a portion of their pension is being withheld because they claimed the CERB benefit and now the government has determined that now they don’t qualify for income supplements. This senior and many others never received notice or warning of this measure.
The number of utility providers that zealously try to disconnect vulnerable customers and then justify their behavior despite legislated protections for vulnerable people.
The lack of vision and rigidity some organizations demonstrate acts as barriers to connectivity and collaboration. For example, a misguided grocery store manager getting upset with his local food bank for buying of of their loss leaders. Instead of seeing this as a problem, it really is an opportunity to combine community involvement and a business opportunity.
Housing and Homelessness
A person deemed to require emergency housing waiting on a housing list with an estimated five-year backlog.
A town so out of touch with the housing reality in their community that they actively encouraged more people to move to their community to “work from home.” The concept of being a “Work from Home” capital of Canada completely ignores that so many people are spending 80-100% of their income on housing instead of the government-suggested 30-40%.
A young heavy equipment operator in a small town who lives in his truck because all of the people from the city have driven the price of houses and rentals beyond his reach.
A senior citizen stuffing her sweater with newspaper to stay warm because she didn’t have any heating oil. This person owned her house, but due to an unexpected repair bill had to decide which bills she could pay.
The lack of awareness of multi-generational poverty that exists in virtually every rural community.
A single mother with six children passes away suddenly during the pandemic. Her oldest children try to keep the family intact with help from different agencies. Meanwhile, the property owner takes advantage of the situation and raises their rent by 25%.
A community with leaders and builders who believe that affordable housing is defined by homes that are in the $399,000 price range.
Neglect, Isolation, and Ignorance
A senior who each week couldn’t eat all of the frozen meals he accepted. He didn’t want the meals to stop because the delivery person was the only person he saw each week.
A hidden world of poverty next door to a golf course and banquet hall that caters to the wealthy and privileged.
Some community members feel that vulnerable people just need to “pull up their bootstraps” and “just get a job” to solve their problems. These people need to open their eyes and minds to the reality that many vulnerable people face and realize that so-called conventional solutions will not work.
The belief that the problems need big solutions and can only be solved over a long time period. This is true, but it is equally true that there are many things that can be done right now.
Rural Ontario is very picturesque, but there are very real problems that need to be seen and need to be addressed. I have only mentioned a handful of the issues. Our country is one of the wealthiest on the planet, but there is a lack of awareness of just how serious and widespread the issue is. There is an attitude held by some that if they cannot see the problem, then it doesn’t exist, which is why it is rare for you to find articles about these issues in your local media. However, only by illuminating and starting to build awareness of these issues; and by educating communities to the size and scope of these issues and the underlying causes, can we start making a difference today.
We should all feel rage that these issues have been allowed to happen in our communities, I do.
Paul