A Snapshot of Food Security in Manitoba

Access to Enough Food and Impacts on Well-Being

Strengthening dignified access to healthy and appropriate food for community members is essential to building a community where people are well and thrive. All participants in the stakeholder gatherings identified increasing food insecurity in Manitoba and stressed that food access must include a spectrum of food support that moves beyond pantry items to include fresh produce and prepared meals.

The current realities around income support keep people in a constant state of struggle and food response programs are not always aware or cater to the unique needs of people nor do they provide enough food. People can spend the majority of their time trying to secure enough food from multiple sources which is not dignified nor a good use of people’s time and resources.

As a person who is on disability, we get $3.95 a day for food. I have a lot of experience with food insecurity and in my community. More than 70% of people on EI are actually disabled. People expect them to go garden while dealing with their illness.

I cannot eat from the food bank because many of the foods they offer, I cannot eat. Many of the foods they serve goes against my dietary needs. I could eat it but I’ll be in pain. Not all food is usable food or healthy food. Not all processed food is edible for many people.

When I was a stay at home mom, we struggled financially, but I could make bread for 10 cents, and made yogurt, meat, sour cream, and I could garden. As a diabetic I found a lot at the food bank I couldn’t eat. It was also food I didn’t want my kids having either, it was not nutritious or too much sugar.

It explains why a lot of clients are not healthy, trying to live off $4 a day is challenging for a healthy person, so what do you think it does for clients who are not healthy in the first place…[they are] not getting the nutritional needs.

A few years ago I was a volunteer at the Food Bank in Annapolis Valley (Nova Scotia), and the system there was smaller, but they offered quite a few choices and the groceries were fresh and they were able to give people more basic foods, like flour. Want to try to offer more [choices] and basic foods as opposed to processed food but more healthy food like lots of fruits and veg. We’d like to offer some choices and offer some things that people don’t normally get at the food bank, like flour, coffee, oil.

Some of what we’re giving people for food security initiatives, they can’t cook or use or access. For instance I remember someone saying that they got a hamper that had cans in it, but they didn’t have a can opener and couldn’t really afford to run out and grab one, so there was frustration. Some other ideas that come to mind is, when we are involved in donating or supporting food security efforts, the food is gone so fast, instantly. I remember we worked with a group on Food Rescue, and there were a ton of potatoes and eggs that were made available. The chefs that were involved in that prepared more than 100,000 meals over 4 months, and those meals were spoken for before they were even prepared.

The experience I do have is talking to some of the people that come into the church, the food they are getting is a few boxes or a basket, it is not enough for a month. It’s not enough for a week. And some people when they come they have no food in their house or have very little, so you know harvest isn’t the solution. We don’t feel like we’re supplying these people with enough food for a month. Some of the food we are handing out to them is useless for them, like a box of mac and cheese, or chicken, but they can’t or don’t know how to cook it. We can’t accommodate diets or give them what they prefer or can eat.

Many clients ask for the staples, such as eggs, milk and meat, and that is what is lacking from getting from the harvest.

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