It’s hard to know where to start this report of the first day of “Experiencing Hunger.” It all began when the Common Front for Social Justice asked me to participate, along with others, in a three-day project that involved living on food bank rations and reporting on the experience.
While I don’t believe that you always have to “live the experience” in order acquire an understanding of – or empathy for – a situation, the project was described as an “awareness event” and I believe that there is a lot of merit in that. Besides, I have worked at the Human Development Council for a number of years and have been able to research and analyze poverty related issues through a number of lenses. Food security is a subject that was familiar to me.
I had never walked into a food bank as a client, though. Whenever I needed food, I went to a store, made my choices, paid for them and left. This was different. There was a counter separating me from the food. I couldn’t pick out items. There was no choice. I received my “hamper” (a couple of heavy bags), comprised of the following items:
1 Ziplock bag of breakfast cereal
1 Ziplock bag of French fries
1 Ziplock bag of frozen spring rolls
1 212 g pack of frozen deluxe pizza
6 eggs
3 frozen sub rolls
2 squares of margarine
2 packages of crackers
2 packages of “PF” biscuits
2 16g bags of Old Dutch Potato Chips
1 package of Mr. Noodles
1 200g package of macaroni and cheese
1 250 ml tub of Sour Cream
1 2L plastic bottle of Fruité Peach Drink
1 111g Apple Pomegranate “Fruitsation”
1 5oz tin of diced peaches
1 170g tin of tuna
1 370ml tin of evaporated milk
1 410g tin of Irish stew
1 14oz tin of red kidney beans
1 10oz tin of tomato soup
1 10oz tin of vegetable soup
1 398ml tin of beans & tomato sauce
I had read that food banks were seldom in a position to distribute fresh fruits and vegetables. This was no exception to the general rule. I was provided with a few perishable items: margarine, eggs and sour cream. Frozen items included French fries, spring rolls and pizza.
I go to Farmer’s Markets and participate in a local program to buy a “produce pack” weekly from a local producer, so I know the cost of fresh vegetables and fruits. There is no way a person on social assistance could afford that type of food bill. Now I know first-hand that food banks don’t fill that hole in a person’s diet. A reality is sinking in: low income New Brunswickers can’t/don’t have access to fresh food.
As an awareness event, it’s important to communicate the right messages. The project takes place over three days and I’d like to communicate three messages, one for each day. DAY 1: Food Banks and the startling increase in their use; DAY 2: The stigma associated with poverty and Food banks; DAY 3: How can we reduce reliance on food banks? Each day I’ll also offer some personal thoughts on my lived experience.
Food banks arose in Canada in the 1980s as a temporary measure. However, just as income tax – introduced as a temporary measure during the First World War – has become a permanent reality, food banks have become entrenched as a means of meeting the nutritional needs of hundreds of thousands of Canadians.
The number of people relying on food banks is a powerful indicator of poverty and marginalization. It is the “canary in the mineshaft.”
The following figures are taken from the national Hunger Count 2010:
- Number of people assisted by a food bank in March 2010: 867,948 – the highest level on record
- Number helped by food banks for the first time: 80,150 - 9% of the total
- Change in food bank use since 2009: +9%
- Change in food bank use since 2000: +19%
- Number of meals served by food banks in March 2010: 3,459,544 – 6.4% higher than 2009
- Number of food banks in Canada: 900+ food banks and 2,900 + affiliated agencies
- Number of provinces & territories without a food bank: 0
- Years since Canada’s first food bank opened in Edmonton: 29
And food bank use in New Brunswick is startlingly high. Here are some facts taken from Hunger Count 2010 for the province. They are a snapshot of food banks and their clients from March, 2010:
- 18,517 individuals were assisted, March 2010 (4% increase since March 2009)
- 34% were children
- 61% received social assistance
- 66% of food banks saw an increase
Closer to home, the counties of Saint John, Charlotte and Kings make up district 4 of the New Brunswick Association of Food Banks. The Provincial Association lists 12 food banks in district 4 – 7 of them in greater Saint John.
Consider these facts:
- The food bank in Grand Manan served 667 people between January and August;
- The food bank in Kennebecasis Valley served 2,640 people between January and August (25% were children);
- The food bank in St. George served 1,567 people between January and August (32% were children);
- The food bank in Hampton served 2,584 people between January and August;
- The food bank at Lakewood is on track to match last year’s demand of 326 orders.
Comparative data exists for the months of June, July and August in 2010 and 2011 for three food banks in Saint John – Central (Charlotte St), West and East – and the food bank in St. Stephen. While the latter (St. Stephen) experienced a small decline in the number of clients served, all three Saint John Food Banks have seen at least a 10% increase this year over the same three month period last year.
There you have it. The numbers are stark.
On Day 1 my lunch consisted of a tuna on a sub bun, some potato chips and a couple of biscuits. Supper was a small pizza, some French fries and some kidney beans. Tomorrow I’m looking at more of the same. It’s getting a little predictable.
Final thoughts:
I don’t think everyone understands that food banks are meant to supplement a person’s food supply. A food hamper is not supposed to provide for a month’s worth of groceries. It provides some relief to people on low income. Enormous challenges with food security remain.
As I was about to sign off for the night I found a couple of comments posted on the Telegraph-Journal website in response to its story about “Experiencing Hunger.” The second letter, in particular, dissed the project and said that no one could experience hunger in three days with the food we were given. She’s right. But she missed the point. I wrote a response but didn’t send it to the paper. Here it is:
I totally get the criticism of the responses to the story on “Experiencing Hunger.” The very name is misleading. There is no way you could experience hunger in three days with the amount of food that the participants (including me) were given.
We were supplied with the typical hamper, adjusted for family size, that anyone using a food bank would receive. There is no way it could last a month; in combination with other condiments, it might stretch a week; it would certainly fill you for three days. But it was not the purpose of the exercise to make the participants hungry. The purpose is threefold, according to the Common Front:
a. To increase empathy towards the struggles faced by those living on social assistance;
b. To help N.B. citizens understand that charity is not enough and that poverty
reduction requires a political solution, namely a government decision to increase the
social assistance rates;
c. To create enough support within the general public to convince elected Members of
the Legislative Assembly to implement raises in N.B.’s welfare rates in order to
reach the average of the Atlantic Provinces.
I plan to have lunch at Romero House on Tuesday.
- contributed by HDC Executive Director Randy Hatfield. Randy will be posting daily during the ‘Experiencing Hunger’ campaign. E-mail: randy@sjhdc.ca