As new residents we were surprised and pleased when a firefighter showed up at our door collecting food for the local food bank – and even more pleased to read that generous people donated 62,000 pounds of food and $44,000 to their annual food drive.
Congratulations to all the firefighters and others who made this happen.
I noticed that both of those numbers were up about 25 per cent over last year. When food banks first started in the early ’80s they were seen as a ‘temporary measure’ to deal with a recession at that time. Unfortunately they have become a necessary part of most communities as more and more people suffer from food insecurity, including a growing number of children and seniors.
A recent study in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (Vol. 192, Issue 3, 1/20/2020) stated that “Those experiencing severe food security died on average nine years earlier than their food-secure counterparts (age 59.5 vs. 68.9 yrs).
Food insecurity is leading to less healthy lifestyles and to shortened lives for some.
So next time you share some food, please take a moment to phone/write your MP or MLA to tell them that as a rich nation Canada can do better and that our governments need to provide adequate income for people to feed themselves in healthy and adequate ways.
As J.S. Woodsworth put it: “What we desire for ourselves, we wish for all.”
Bob Goos
Parksville