Commentary

This page features commentary by PROOF investigators and staff, including blog posts on the PROOF site and contributions to other outlets. These pieces bring together research findings to provide perspective on different issues around addressing household food insecurity.

2023

Food insecurity in Canada is the worst it’s ever been — here’s how we can solve it

By Valerie Tarasuk and Tim Li, published in The Conversation, November 19, 2023

Canada Child Benefit’s Seventh Year: Reflecting on its unrealized potential to reduce food insecurity

By Tim Li, published in PROOF blog, July 21, 2023

Tackling household food insecurity to protect the mental health of children and youth in Canada

By Lynn McIntyre, published in CMAJ, July 24, 2023

Canada’s national food policy is at risk of enshrining a two-tiered food system

By Valerie Tarasuk and Tim Li, published in The Conversation, June 5, 2023

Food prescriptions – a short-sighted response to food insecurity

By Tim Li, published in Healthy Debate, May 24, 2023

Federal budget 2023: Grocery rebate is the right direction on food insecurity, but there’s a long road ahead

By Valerie Tarasuk and Tim Li, published in The Conversation, March 29, 2023

2022

Moment of reckoning for household food insecurity monitoring in Canada

By Valerie Tarasuk, Andrée-Anne Fafard St-Germain, and Timmie Li, published in Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention in Canada, October 12, 2022

Reconsidering Food Prescription Programs in Relation to Household Food Insecurity

By Valerie Tarasuk and Lynn McIntyre, published in The Journal of Nutrition, September, 13 2022

Persistently high rates of food insecurity demand policy action on inadequate income

By Tim Li, published in PROOF blog, August 16, 2022

What does record inflation mean for household food insecurity in Canada?

By Tim Li, published in PROOF blog, March 16, 2022

2021

A decade of proof on how to tackle food insecurity in Canada

By Tim Li, published in The Hill Times, December 28, 2021

A look back at 10 years of PROOF

By Tim Li, published in PROOF blog, December 28, 2021

Food drives are not the answer to poverty and hunger

By Elaine Power, Paul Taylor, and Valerie Tarasuk, published in Toronto Star, December 5, 2021

To eliminate food insecurity, we must dismantle anti-Black racism

By Tim Li, published in Healthy Debate, October 26, 2021

P.E.I. made history by setting a timeline for eliminating food insecurity: Here’s how they can achieve it.

By Jennifer Taylor, Tim Li, and Valerie Tarasuk, published in The Guardian (P.E.I)/Saltwire Network, June 17, 2021

Prince Edward Island: The first jurisdiction to set explicit targets for reducing food insecurity

By Tim Li, published in PROOF blog, April 21, 2021

2020

Food banks can’t adequately address COVID-19 food insecurity

By Valerie Tarasuk and Lynn McIntyre, published in Policy Options, April 28, 2020

More Canadians are Food Insecure Than Ever Before – And the Problem is Only Getting Worse

By Valerie Tarasuk, published in Homeless Hub, March 11, 2020

2018

Basic income: A no-brainer in economic hard times

By Catherine Mah, published in The Conversation, August 2, 2018

The case for more comprehensive data on household food insecurity

By Valerie Tarasuk, Timmie Li, Andrew Mitchell, and Naomi Dachner, published in Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention in Canada, May 16, 2018

2017

Food waste and food insecurity in Canada

By Naomi Dachner and Valerie Tarasuk, published in Policy Options, October 23, 2017

Provinces and Territories Opting Out of Measuring Household Food Insecurity

By Tim Li, published in PROOF blog, May 25, 2017

2016

Monitoring Food Insecurity around the World and in Canada

By Tim Li, published in PROOF blog, June 10, 2016

Food insecurity remains a persistent national public health problem

By Naomi Dachner, published in Homeless Hub, April 5, 2016

Food bank stats don’t tell the story of food insecurity

By Tim Li, published in Think Upstream, March 3, 2016

Political Talk about Food Insecurity in Canada

By Laura Anderson, published in University of Toronto Press, February 24, 2016

Five things about food insecurity in Canada

By Carolyn Shimmin and Valerie Tarasuk, published in Policy Options, January 7, 2016

2015

Donating ‘edible waste’ to food banks in exchange for tax credit? Now that’s a rubbish idea

By Valerie Tarasuk, published in The Globe and Mail, November 2, 2015

2014

It is time that all Canadians have access to adequate food!

By Naomi Dachner, published in Homeless Hub, February 6, 2014

2013

Fitting time to reflect on hunger in Canada

By Naomi Dachner, published in Homeless Hub, October 15, 2013

Food insecurity indicator of poor progress on poverty

By Rachel Loopstra, published in Canada without Poverty, August 6, 2013

Food insecurity hits home for many Canadian households

By Naomi Dachner, published in Homeless Hub, July 25, 2013