National food policy needed to address the ‘food insecure’: report

In a new report released Monday, more than 2.5 million Canadians are food insecure and lacking access to enough safe and nutriotious food to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

The report, “Resetting the Table: A People's Food Policy for Canada,” said healthy fair, sustainable and affordable food especially in poor, urban neighbourhoods and in northern communities, is hard to access.

To tackle this issue, the report by the People’s Food Policy Project, made up of non-governmental organizations, calls for a nationwide food policy focused on local food production, a national school-lunch program and sustainable farming policies.

The report draws attention to the increase in the use of food banks, the lack of grocery stores in low-income neighbourhoods and a majority of Canadians not following the recommended allowances of healthy food as outlined in the Food Guide.

To tackle the problem, the organization said agricultural ministries need to include urban-agriculture projects in their policies and schools, hospitals and universities should promote more locally grown food.