Reducing food insecurity in Canada requires more than food system reform

Yesterday, the federal government released Canada’s National Food Security Strategy, outlining a long-term vision to strengthen our country’s food systems.

We welcome the strategy’s recognition of Indigenous food sovereignty, including the commitment to work with Indigenous Peoples and support access to traditionally harvested foods. We also recognize the importance of strengthening domestic food production and reducing vulnerabilities in Canada’s food systems.

But it’s disappointing that a strong income security lens is missing from the strategy.

For decades, the evidence has been clear. Canadians are not food insecure because food is unavailable. They are food insecure because they do not have enough money to afford it. Research has consistently shown that household food insecurity in Canada is driven primarily by inadequate incomes.

Policies that support local food production, strengthen supply chains, and improve food system resilience are necessary. But they are not a substitute for income security. No amount of innovation in the food system can solve food insecurity if people do not have enough money to buy food in the first place.

Today, nearly a quarter of Canadians experience household food insecurity, including one in three children. Millions of people are making impossible choices between food and other basic necessities.

We know that when incomes rise, household food insecurity falls. During the pandemic, household food insecurity declined as emergency income supports reached people across the country. Targeted income measures like Old Age Security and the Guaranteed Income Supplement have demonstrated the power to reduce the risk of food insecurity among seniors.

While the government’s strategy establishes targets for domestic food production and food processing, it doesn’t include comparable targets for reducing household food insecurity or clear measures to assess whether fewer Canadians are struggling to afford food. It also treats food insecurity as a universal challenge, despite the fact that certain communities face a much greater risk of food insecurity due to structural and systemic inequities and the ongoing impacts of colonialism. And the strategy fails to include new income security investments aimed at reducing food insecurity — the current configuration of the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit does not go far enough in addressing current needs.

The ultimate test of any food security strategy is whether fewer people are going hungry. Without a stronger focus on improving incomes, the strategy is unlikely to reduce food insecurity at the household level.

Right To Food will continue working alongside community partners, Indigenous leaders, advocates, researchers, and elected officials to advance policies that address the root causes of food insecurity and ensure everyone in Canada can afford the basics of life.

Contact for media inquiries or interview requests:

Hani Ramadhani
Media and Content Manager
[email protected]