Beyond the plate
It’s been nearly 45 years since the first food bank opened in Canada – the mission was simple, and the timeline was short: eliminate short-term food insecurity and help people get over the difficult economic hump at the time.
Fast forward to now, the country remains in a food security crisis.
Source: Food Banks Canada, 2024
The situation is dire.
Food banks serve a purpose – to close the gap on accessing healthy food. It’s evident based on the statistics above that an increased number of people are at crossroads. But what about the people not captured in these numbers? Who’s not visiting a food bank, why, and what’s the full experience of those drawing on community support?
A long list of barriers is forcing countless people experiencing food insecurity across Canada to face another day hungry. The barriers, once examined closely, are within reach to address and eliminate – time, focus, considerate and deliberate attention, and awareness are the impetus to change, indeed.
Food bank operators recognize that the day someone comes to a food bank for the first time may be the most challenging day of their life. Accessing food banks and asking for help in general comes with barriers and stigma for many.
That’s why I’m committed to furthering my support for Food Banks Canada this year and beyond – over the past few years, we (my readers and I) have raised the roughly $100K in funds to generate over 400,000 meals for Canadians. I’m realizing more and more that while individual contributions of support like the generosity we’ve together displayed helps, broader issues are at play that we one, need to know of and two, do something about.
A year of foundational discussions
I’m working in partnership as an individual community champion with Food Banks Canada to elevate the discussion around food insecurity and this first article is a look at the ways that the national food banking network can adopt more equitable and accessible practices so more people can get the fresh, nutritious food they need, when they need it.
Recently Food Banks Canada commissioned a one-of-a-kind guidebook for food bank operators across the country. Available in both official languages, Without Barriers, Stigma, or Fear: A Practical Guide to Accessibility and Equity for Food Banks, is a practical document created in collaboration with peer researchers that aims to help the national food banking network further enhance local operations and client experiences.
The guide addresses the realities people face that may hinder their ability to access food – beyond just food insecurity – and offers insights to address barriers and inefficiencies that are getting in the way to equitable food access, along with ideas to make food bank spaces more welcoming.
Local food bank managers and operators will want to read this guide as it sets out recommendations to solve for:
Physical barriers
Communication errors
Cultural misconceptions
Limited transportation options
Limited availability of food choices for those with allergies or sensitivities
On-site screening processing errors
Barriers to access of other community services including healthcare, mental health care, job banks, library services, regular vaccines clinics, and more
Inconsistencies in local food bank employee training and hiring
40% of people in need of food assistance will go hungry rather than submit to a poorly structured screening process.
I read through the entire guide – 100 pages of eye-opening, objective and evidence-based best practices for ensuring an equitable experience for all people who visit a food bank. Checklists and toolkit ideas are also provided, sparking ideas for a consistent experience across all the provinces and territories; specifically, “that no one gets turned away without something (Food Banks Canada).”
A guide like this takes time, focus, and significant investment to come to life, no doubt. Individual community members like you and I can help fund not only food bank operations across Canada, but also the development of more documents like the Accessibility Guide by offering generous donations to support Food banks Canada and its work, when and how we can.
Image used with permission from Food Banks Canada
The more I research and understand the scope of food insecurity, the more I’m understanding that hunger isn’t about a lack of food alone; rather, equitable and sustainable solutions are needed to address the broader issues surrounding food insecurity that include:
Image used with permission from Food Banks Canada
Food waste / food recovery
Geographical location
Social factors
Illness
Lack of housing
Homelessness
Unemployment
Immigration policy
Health care delivery
Evidently, as the need for food banks grows across Canada, and the diversity of visitors increased, the work of building welcoming and accessible spaces is more critical than ever. Food Banks Canada is leading the way with thought-inducing documentation like the Accessibility Guide and whether we work within the food bank network or not, the material serves as critical reading material to ground us all in the realities too many Canadians face every day.
For those working in the food bank network looking for a copy of the guide, please email Food Banks Canada at communications@foodbankscanada.ca.
Generous donations in support of Food Banks Canada can be made here.
