Put Food Banks Out Of Business (PFOB) is a national campaign advocating for a guaranteed, livable basic income—an income floor below which no Canadian can fall. Last year, Matt Noble from PFOB spoke with Dr. Valerie Tarasuk about PROOF’s decade of research on food insecurity and how a basic income could go far in protecting Canadians from this serious public health problem.
Listen to the full episode and check out some of the highlights below. Learn more about the Put Food Banks Out of Business campaign at: https://www.putfoodbanksoutofbusiness.com/
What does the high prevalence of household food insecurity say about Canada?
Household food insecurity is defined and measured in Canada as the inadequate or insecure access to food due to financial constraints. By asking households about their experiences of food deprivation due to a lack of money, we are learning about the health of their financial circumstance, as well as their physical and mental health.
A household struggling to afford food is invariably struggling with other necessities. Food insecurity is a sensitive indicator of how a household is managing financially, capturing the adequacy of their incomes, but also the stability of that income and the ability to weather unexpected income loss or rises in the cost of living.
The high prevalence of food insecurity tells us that many households are struggling financially and that the current labour market and social safety net have failed to ensure Canadians have enough money to meet their needs.
The strong relationship between the severity of food insecurity and a wide range of objective health outcomes beyond poor nutrition, like hospitalization and premature mortality across various conditions, illustrates that the broader deprivation identified through food insecurity is a potent determinant of health and that food insecurity represents a large yet modifiable drain on our healthcare system.
Racial disparities in food insecurity speak to systemic racism and the ongoing legacy of colonialism
Even after taking into account other characteristics known to predict higher risk of food insecurity, like renting as opposed to being a homeowner, being unemployed, or relying on social assistance, Black and Indigenous households are still more likely to be food insecure than their white counterparts.
These findings point to the ways in which discrimination plays out in systems for employment, housing, education, and more that disadvantage Black and Indigenous communities and make it more difficult to have sufficient and stable enough circumstances to be food secure.
Tackling anti-Black and anti-Indigenous racism is central to eliminating food insecurity. A well-designed basic income could be an important part of anti-racism policy and the response to food insecurity, by ensuring income security and stability for all.
The need for policy change to reduce food insecurity
Tackling the circumstances that give rise to food insecurity means re-evaluating how public policy affects the adequacy and stability of incomes for lower income, working-aged Canadians and their families. Research has repeatedly shown that policy interventions can reduce vulnerable households’ risk of food insecurity by providing them with more money.
There are many policies in both federal and provincial toolboxes, such as tax credits and benefits, Employment Insurance, income taxes, social assistance, and minimum wage. As it stands, there is no accountability for whether Canadians can earn enough or receive sufficient support from our social safety net in times of dire financial need.
With these fragmented approaches, there’s no accountability. We’ve talked about Ontario Works. Nobody has to answer for the fact that amount of money is inadequate. There’s no legislation that says it has to be adequate.
The Canada Child Benefit. I continue to puzzle over where these amounts came from. I think what what we want with a basic income is transparency to say this amount of money actually could enable somebody to meet basic needs and we don’t have that.
Put Food Banks Out of Business is part of a growing movement in Canada advocating for a basic income that establishes a livable income floor for all and shifts the approach of income supports from the notion of “deservedness” towards equity and a basic standard of living as a human right. An income floor would go far in providing both adequate incomes and income stability to manage financial turbulence without having to make such severe compromises.
The beautiful thing I think about the conversation that’s starting to happen around basic income is talking about the adequacy of incomes relative to the true cost of living and setting a floor that we won’t let people fall below. We’ve moved away from that with what we’re doing on things like welfare programs right now.
