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Hunger in Canada

Author

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  • Barbara Davis
  • Valerie Tarasuk

Abstract

Hunger is defined as the inability to obtain sufficient, nutritious, personally acceptable food through normal food channels or the uncertainty that one will be able to do so. After the depression of the 1930s, widespread concerns about hunger in Canada did not resurface until the recession of the early 1980s when the demand for food assistance rose dramatically. The development of an ad hoc charitable food distribution system ensued and by 1992, 2.1 million Canadians were receiving food assistance. In the absence of national monitoring systems, this remains the best available estimate of the prevalence of hunger. Hunger appears to be linked to poverty, unemployment, and numbers of people receiving social assistance. Although the Canadian social security system has traditionally been characterized by government-run universal and targeted programs designed to address income issues, hunger raises concerns about the current “safety net”. The primary response to hunger has been the proliferation of food banks, the agencies at the heart of the charitable food assistance system. On a smaller scale, community-based programs and advocacy initiatives have emerged. Nonetheless, the demand for food assistance continues to rise. The trend raises questions about future directions for social policy in Canada and concerns about the development of a two-tiered food distribution system—one for those with adequate money and one for the poor. Copyright Kluwer Academic Publishers 1994

Suggested Citation

  • Barbara Davis & Valerie Tarasuk, 1994. "Hunger in Canada," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 11(4), pages 50-57, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:agrhuv:v:11:y:1994:i:4:p:50-57
    DOI: 10.1007/BF01530416
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Wilkinson, R.G., 1992. "National mortality rates: The impact of inequality?," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 82(8), pages 1082-1084.
    2. Najman, Jake M., 1993. "Health and poverty: Past, present and prospects for the future," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 157-166, January.
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    Cited by:

    1. Lee, Deishin & Sönmez, Erkut & Gómez, Miguel I. & Fan, Xiaoli, 2017. "Combining two wrongs to make two rights: Mitigating food insecurity and food waste through gleaning operations," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 40-52.
    2. Edge, Sara & Meyer, Samantha B., 2019. "Pursuing dignified food security through novel collaborative governance initiatives: Perceived benefits, tensions and lessons learned," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 232(C), pages 77-85.
    3. Barιş Ata & Deishin Lee & Erkut Sönmez, 2019. "Dynamic Volunteer Staffing in Multicrop Gleaning Operations," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 67(2), pages 295-314, March.
    4. Meike Rombach & Eunkyung Kang & Vera Bitsch, 2018. "Good deeds revisited: motivation and boundary spanning in formal volunteering," International Review on Public and Nonprofit Marketing, Springer;International Association of Public and Non-Profit Marketing, vol. 15(1), pages 105-126, March.
    5. Miewald, Christiana & McCann, Eugene & Temenos, Cristina & McIntosh, Alison, 2019. "“I do my best to eat while I'm using”: Mapping the foodscapes of people living with HIV/AIDS who use drugs," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 226(C), pages 96-103.
    6. Melanie Rock & Lynn McIntyre & Krista Rondeau, 2009. "Discomforting comfort foods: stirring the pot on Kraft Dinner ® and social inequality in Canada," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 26(3), pages 167-176, September.
    7. Nayantara Hattangadi & Ellen Vogel & Linda J Carroll & Pierre Côté, 2019. "“Everybody I Know Is Always Hungry…But Nobody Asks Why”: University Students, Food Insecurity and Mental Health," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-10, March.
    8. Kelly J. Hodgins & Evan D. G. Fraser, 2018. ""We are a business, not a social service agency." Barriers to widening access for low-income shoppers in alternative food market spaces," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 35(1), pages 149-162, March.

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