According to new figures released by Statistics Canada, almost a quarter of Nova Scotians cannot consistently and reliably afford healthy and nutritious food.
Data compiled by the University of Toronto measures food insecurity in Canada’s 10 provinces for 2022. Numbers rose in each province, but increases were largest in Atlantic Canada.
“I wish to see these numbers to say I was shocked or surprised, but the reality is we’ve also seen every indication of the severity of food insecurity here in Nova Scotia,” said Feed Nova’s Karen Theriault Scotland.
“People struggle at a very, very deep level to get their daily needs met.”
The number of people living with food insecurity in Nova Scotia rose from 17 percent in 2021 to 22 percent in 2022. That’s just one percentage point behind Prince Edward Island, which now has the highest percentage of people food insecure in the country.
These numbers are likely to be even higher now. Theriault said food bank usage in Nova Scotia increased 27 percent in the first two months of 2023 compared to the same period in 2022.
“Until our elected officials decide in all honesty to make it a priority to do something to reduce levels of food insecurity, there is no reason we should expect the numbers to go any other way,” she said .
Poverty a “political choice”
But the numbers briefly went in a different direction in 2020 and 2021, when many Canadians received income support from COVID-19 relief programs that have since ended.
“As the government responded by putting money directly into the hands of those who needed it, food insecurity rates fell…if we’re looking for solutions to address food insecurity, you need look no further,” Theriault said.
But despite presenting a $14.4 billion budget for 2023-24, the province has not increased income support rates for the second straight year.
“Poverty is a political choice. There is no other way to look at them. We decide what to prioritize every day, and we have not prioritized food insecurity,” Theriault said.
Mandy Kay-Raining Bird of Dalhousie University, who is also chair of Nova Scotia’s Basic Income, called the state of food insecurity across the country “worrying”.
“Food insecurity reflects income insecurity,” she said, adding that it remains high in Atlantic Canada as the region typically has higher levels of poverty and more precarious work situations.
Need a “targeted” approach
Kay-Raining Bird said income support rates in Nova Scotia are “well below” the official poverty line set in Canada.
“It’s unscrupulous. It’s a political decision and we can act differently and we should act differently,” she said.
The situation is even worse for young people and people from marginalized communities.
According to the figures, nearly a third, or 31.4 percent, of children in Nova Scotia live in nutritionally insecure households. The data also shows that the highest percentage of people living in food-insecure households are Black and Indigenous.
“We need a very focused approach to address all the systemic issues and the root causes that lead to food insecurity,” Theriault said.
“Far too often we see food as the solution…but food insecurity is not a problem that stems from a lack of food. It is a problem based on insufficient income.”
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