For the last 3 years, our Everybody Eats project has been laying the groundwork for a provincial roadmap to improved food security. The need to address economic access to healthy food in our province has been consistently reiterated throughout each stage of this process.
13.4% of households in our province are food insecure, meaning they have insecure access to adequate food because of financial constraints.
As a result, an action group titled “Cost of Food & Household Food Insecurity” has been assembled, and is devoted to addressing economic barriers to accessing adequate, healthy food in our province.
The Everybody Eats Action Group on the Cost of Food and Household Food Insecurity is composed of representatives from 8 key agencies:
Community Sector Council - Vibrant Communities
Dietitians NL
Food First NL
Kids Eat Smart Foundation NL
Labrador-Grenfell Health
NL Housing and Homelessness Network
NL Public Health Association
Nunatsiavut Government, Department of Health and Social Development
The group spent the spring and summer focused on action planning and drafting a workplan, and, attended the event, Policy on the Rock: Together Reducing Poverty, to network and discuss Cost of Food & Household Food Insecurity with a larger group.
Draft Produced for
the First Cost of Food in NL Report Since 2004
To draw attention or actionable change to an issue, we must quantify, qualify and thoroughly understand the prevalence, root causes, and complexities of the issue.
To increase our understanding of household food insecurity in NL, we hired a Masters of Public Health student as a summer intern. Over a few short months, the student completed a collaborative review of food costing data in NL, and produced a suite of affordability scenarios for different demographics in our province.
We are now working on a draft of the first Cost of Food in NL Report since 2004. The document is titled, “Affordability of Healthy Eating in NL,” and is currently undergoing extensive review, edits, and enhancements with the Everybody Eats Action Group on the Cost of Food and Household Food Insecurity.
The report, once finished, will allow us to explore the relationship between the cost of food and household food insecurity, so we may propose actionable and logical steps to address some of the issues impacting food insecurity in our province.
Stay tuned for more. Contact ethan@foodfirstnl.ca if you have questions or would like more information!
