WE NEED TO HELP WORKING POOR
Editorial
by Robyn Lee
When we reflect upon the term "food security" on World Food Day each year, we tend to think it applies to Third World countries –places far removed from us. In 1945 the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) designated October 16 as World Food Day to increase public awareness that millions around the world cannot access enough to eat reliably. But here in North America, where obesity is rising at an alarming rate (and we spend an obscene amount of money on diets and health costs associated with that obesity) there are many for whom food security is a daily struggle.
The demographics of food bank clients vary according to region, but statistics show that among the people most susceptible to poverty and hunger are the working poor. Alarmingly, the numbers of working poor forced to use food banks in the Greater Toronto Area has doubled over the past 10 years. Food from a food bank has become an edible source of income for many low-income earners.
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