According to research gathered by Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox, and Addington (KFL&A) Public Health, food insecurity is a direct result of income disparity and the inability to afford healthy food.
At the KFL&A Board of Health’s monthly meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024, Dr. Piotr Oglaza, Medical Officer of Health, presented a brief report on monitoring food affordability in KFL&A. The newly released 2024 Cost of Eating Healthy report, developed by the Healthy Communities team at KFL&A Public Health, depicts stark information about food insecurity and affordability in the KFL&A area, Oglaza told the board.
Noting that, in 2023, about one in three households in the KFL&A area experienced food insecurity — inadequate or insecure access to food — due to financial constraints, Oglaza said the new report represents a “worsening of that problem” in 2024.
The report begins by noting that food is a fundamental human right: “Everyone deserves adequate, healthy, safe, affordable, and culturally appropriate food. People with household food insecurity cannot afford the food they want and need for good health.”
One’s level of food security is an essential marker of health status, Oglaza pointed out. People in households experiencing food insecurity are more likely to suffer from chronic conditions, including mental health disorders, non-communicable diseases, and infections. Food insecurity is a serious public health problem, the report notes, because it is a marker of pervasive material deprivation and profound health inequity.
KFL&A Public Health is mandated to complete local food affordability monitoring according to Ontario Public Health Standards requirements. It does this using the “Ontario Nutritious Food Basket Costing” tool based on Health Canada’s 2019 National Nutritious Food Basket, which reflects Canada’s Food Guide and consumer consumption patterns. The Income Scenarios tools support Public Health Units in comparing the monthly cost of food and rental market housing rates to monthly incomes for various individual and family households.
According to this year’s report, people in the KFL&A area who are living on a fixed income, receiving social assistance, or earning minimum wage have inadequate incomes to pay for healthy food. Other basic needs such as shelter, heat, hydro, clothing, transportation, child care, dental care, etc., compound this, leading to local residents having to choose between healthy eating and other necessities.
According to some of the income scenarios in the 2024 report, many people have negative or low balances after paying for food and rent, highlighting the inadequacy of incomes and the critical role income has on food security. For example, a family of four on Ontario Works in Kingston would find themselves with a balance of negative $505 at the end of a month. The same family in Greater Napanee would have only $221 remaining by the end of each month.
Oglaza noted that income-based responses are needed to address food insecurity. Food charities and food-based interventions such as food literacy education, alternative food retail, and community gardens are less effective responses because they fail to address the underlying problem of food insecurity: inadequate income. The 2024 Cost of Eating Healthy report provides evidence-based recommendations for how governments and community organizations can help reduce food insecurity.
Oglaza told the Board of Health the release of the KFL&A 2024 Cost of Eating report was announced through social media and by e-mail to a distribution list of community partners and other interest holders, including municipal leaders. KFL&A Public Health is collaborating with Public Health Units across Eastern Ontario to raise awareness of food insecurity as a significant public health issue in the region. A joint media release is scheduled for distribution in December, the board learned.
Board member and Kingston City Councillor Conny Glenn asked the Healthy Communities team for some recommendations.
“What changes have to happen to fix these issues?… I know that there’s not going to be a quick solution. But… some of us are really trying [to accomplish change] with the other levels of government. So what do we push for? And also, what can we do locally?” she inquired.
Oglaza answered that he and others had already shared information with various levels of government and stakeholders that “the solution is income.” While many people rely on charitable organizations and programs such as food banks, this model is not sustainable in the long run, he explained.
“Income is the barrier here…. [We all agree that] we need short-term help for those impacted, and that’s important and invaluable. But this is not a long-term solution,” the Medical Officer of Health said.
Frontenac Islands Mayor and Board member Judy Greenwood-Spears wondered aloud, “How much is being driven by the increased cost per food as well? I think it’s got to be looked at in multiple ways.”
Board member and Kingston City Councillor Jeff McLaren voiced his belief that “the income piece is because we’ve commodified food. If we produce food locally and grow it ourselves on a vertical farm at home, that would provide food security for a number of people.” Vertical farming, he suggested, would fight climate change while protecting against inflation and providing healthy food and more benefits.
“I’m hoping that if we can rethink the way food is produced and delivered in Canada, perhaps here in Kingston… it’ll catch on and be the new way of doing things,” McLaren said.
Rachael Mather, a dietitian on the Healthy Communities team and one of the report’s authors, responded to the members’ questions.
“Just to touch on what Conny [Glenn] was asking about in terms of responses: Food insecurity and affordability is an issue of financial disparity, and income responses are needed to address that. Any investment in charity or food-based responses is taking away from the need to look at these systemic income issues,” she said, concurring with Oglaza
Food costs, housing affordability, and “any pressure on income is going to increase the precarity of those experiencing food insecurity,” Mather went on. “So there are definitely a lot of complex issues at hand, and the current evidence really does point to looking at policies that improve the incomes of people experiencing food insecurity.”
Next, she addressed McLaren’s thoughts about the local food response, calling them “really complex,” especially when climate change is added to the equation.
“We do want to support local resilience, as well. So there’s that side of it. It depends on whether you’re talking about climate mitigation or adaptation,” she said.
“But in terms of the food insecurity response, there’s not that much evidence on the supply side of things. It’s more about focusing on income and what governments can do to ensure that people have adequate incomes.”
Glenn noted that a vertical farm unit was installed at 945 Princess Street when the climate expo happened in Kingston.
“These units are incredible, and about 10 or 12 of these could supply all the leafy greens for a city the size of Kingston,” she said, sharing that the City is working alongside companies like those who build vertical farming units to investigate what could be done locally to make food less expensive and more accessible. Glenn noted, however, that the process is “still in its infancy.”
The board also discussed the fact that farmers in our area are “aging out,” with few new farmers taking on the job, as well as ways that technological advancements could allow food to be grown year-round.
“So those are a few pieces of information about where we’re headed as a City. And please keep bringing this up because policymakers at all levels have to hear that this is important,” Glenn summarized. “This should be one of our primary [jobs]; we have to keep people fed and housed before we even talk about so many of the prevailing things. So thank you for the report.”
Chairman Wes Garrod agreed with the assertion that income disparity is the primary cause of food insecurity. “For people here and now,” food programming is still essential to help offset food insecurity; still, it is not sustainable in the long term, he said.
“We’re not solving this crucial problem,” Garrod stated.
