I’ve been to Guatemala about a dozen times between the years of 1986 to 2012. My first three trips were during their civil war that saw over 200,000 people (mostly indigenous) murdered by their own government. I believed that during those trips I was able to see hunger firsthand. So by comparison, I did not think that Canadians suffered hunger or poverty. The dictionary meaning of hunger is……. “a compelling need or desire for food. The painful sensation or state of weakness caused by the need of food. A shortage of food; famine.”……. I thought that hunger always equalled famine. However, by definition it could just be the desire for food. Well, I have a desire for food all the time. Does that make me hungry? By definition, yes. Did I ever have a “compelling” desire for food? Yes. Did I ever have a painful sensation? Yes. Was I ever in a state of weakness caused by the need of food? Yes. Did I ever suffer famine? No.
Since we operate the York Regional food bank, I had a need to know the difference between hunger and food insecurity . When attempting to create a slogan for our program, the word “hunger” always sounded better than the phrase “food insecurity”. What is food insecurity? The definition of “food insecurity” is……… “the state of being without access to sufficient quantity of affordable nutritious food”…….. I’ve never suffered that. I have gone up to ten days without solid food. It’s called fasting. I didn’t suffer food insecurity because at any time I could reach into my fridge or go to the grocery store and buy whatever I wanted. So I’ve been hungry, but never suffered food insecurity.
Doesn’t food insecurity sound a lot like malnutrition? Well let’s see. The World Food Programme (www.wfp.org/hunger/malnutrition) says that “Even when people get enough to eat, they will become malnourished if the food they eat does not provide the proper amounts of micronutrients-vitamins and minerals to meet daily nutritional requirements”. If the average rate of food insecure individuals in Ontario is 14%, then there are many Ontarians that are “malnourished”. In York Region, that would be about 154,000 people (14% of 1.1 Million people= 154,000).
After two years of operating our Food Share Program I was still unsure if we were really making a difference in our community. We collected food, nutritious food, and delivered the food to our members, but I didn’t see them eat it. For all I knew, everyone could have been throwing out the food. Some members would refuse food if they knew they wouldn’t be using it, which is much appreciated. When they didn’t want our offering, most would politely say “Please give that to someone who needs it”.
One Saturday morning, there was a lady who made me a real believer in our program. A couple of our members house seniors. Delivery day in these seniors’ buildings is a big deal. Almost all the residents of each building come down for the food distribution. In one of these buildings, there was a thin elderly lady that would sit near the front door and watch me bring food into the lobby for distribution. She didn’t say a word for weeks, just watched me work. One day she broke her silence by saying “Oh, I get to eat today”. Immediately tears began to well up in my eyes and to save my embarrassment for being a sissy, I just smiled and continued to work. She was suffering from food insecurity. Since I brought food that day, she was able to access food and feed herself.
So, are people hungry in our region? Yes. Are people suffering from food insecurity in York Region? Absolutely. Are people malnourished in our region? Yes. Which word is most relevant in our region? Hunger or food insecurity? The answer is yes.
Alex Bilotta
Executive Director
THE LIFECORPS™ FOOD SHARE BLOG 