Food security should top new premier’s agenda

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This article was published 25/11/2021 (1760 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

HEATHER Stefanson undoubtedly has a long to-do list with many difficult tasks to tackle as she settles in as Manitoba’s new — and first female — premier.

Food Matters Manitoba congratulates the new premier and recognizes her historic accomplishment — and we are asking Stefanson to add one more item to her list. She needs to commit to making all Manitoba households fully “food secure” by the end of this decade, ensuring that all Manitobans — no matter where they live, or their background — can access enough food.

COVID-19 has made it increasingly difficult for Manitobans to obtain food. With inflation taking a significant chunk out of household budgets, more and more Manitobans are finding it increasingly difficult to feed themselves and their families.

This is especially the case for those receiving social assistance: the current rate of $771 per month for a single person (which includes $555 for rent assist) leaves only about $7 per day for food and other household needs. This was a woefully low amount even long before the pandemic; with food inflation, $7 barely covers a single meal and falls far short of the minimum amount someone requires to purchase an adequate amount of healthy food each day.

Food Matters Manitoba would like to challenge the new premier and the Progressive Conservative government to not only immediately increase this social-assistance benefit amount so the lowest income Manitobans can afford enough to eat, but to also take several steps to improve food security for those among us who cannot easily get healthy, nutritious and culturally appropriate food where we live.

All provinces, including Manitoba, are facing significant financial challenges due to COVID-19, as the pandemic has decreased government revenues and increased expenses. However, other provinces that have faced far more dire financial circumstances than Manitoba have managed to take tangible steps to increase food security for their most vulnerable citizens.

Several years ago, Newfoundland and Labrador rolled out an anti-poverty strategy that included increasing social assistance rates, reducing provincial income tax for the lowest earners and raising the provincial minimum wage by $4 per hour over a four-year period. After taking these innovative steps, the number of food-insecure households decreased by nearly one-third — including nearly one-half among social assistance recipients — between 2007 and 2012.

If Newfoundland and Labrador could achieve this during the Great Recession, there is no reason Manitoba couldn’t do the same during a major social and economic crisis in order to support its lowest-income citizens.

You also can’t fix what you don’t measure, and a core problem in addressing food security in Manitoba is that our province does not keep up-to-date data on the cost of food. Most other provinces provide updated data on food costs once every two years; Manitoba, meanwhile, has not done this since 2011 — which was two premiers ago.

With evidence suggesting the price of food nationally is rapidly rising, we are asking Stefanson to direct the province to collect Manitoba-specific information, as well as participate in Statistics Canada’s studies measuring household food insecurity. Studying these trends will provide the data needed to create long-term solutions.

Finally, Food Matters Manitoba is seeking bold leadership from Stefanson and the province to collaborate with the federal government and their counterparts across the country to establish a basic-income guarantee. During COVID-19, thousands of Manitobans experienced first-hand the importance that universal income programs, such as the Canada Emergency Recovery Benefit (CERB), hold for their ability to purchase food.

Without CERB, many more Manitobans would have been unable to put food on their tables during the worst of the pandemic. With a basic-income program permanently in place, many Manitobans with low incomes will be able to afford the food they need every day.

While some may say there are more pressing tasks for our new premier, we maintain that food security ties to every major challenge facing our province and its people. It is a health issue. It is an economic issue, and an environmental issue. Most of all, it is a fairness issue.

Manitobans need their new premier to take on the important tasks involved in actively addressing food security as soon as possible, so we can live in a place where everyone can and will truly eat well.

Kirsten Earl McCorrister is the chair and Rob Moquin is the executive director of Food Matters Manitoba, a non-profit organization that champions a food secure Manitoba. Register for Food Matters Manitoba’s next Food Security Matters speakers series discussion, “Food Security: Why Income Matters,” at www.foodmattersmanitoba.ca.