National Hunger Awareness Day - What Should This Day Represent - Who Should Be Watching?

This is National Hunger Awareness Day. The General Manager of the Community Food Sharing Association, Eg Walters, indicates there are still a lot of people using food banks. Walters says locally they are seeing an increase of 25 to 30 % increase in some locations and more frequent visits.

According to the Food Sharing Association it cost $168.14 a week for basic food, to feed a family of four. Feed them what is the question? Canada's food guide would certainly disagree with this promotion, so in reality, FSA and Stats Canada are saying, as long as it's edible, it's food!

I took the liberty to draft a very harsh, relatively modest week long menu, with current supermarket prices, and where possible I used discount stores such as Pipers and Dolla-Rama to buy yet cheaper product and quality. The attached menu below does not include snacks, treats, lunch items, fresh fruit or vegetables, very little real nutrition in fact. This list does not support household and personal care items, over counter medicines or dairy. I believe you will be quite awed by the findings.

Relative to all of this is just how little income support payments are at $666.00 per month, and they are provided for food, utilities and clothing. Simply put, it's undoable and it has to change!
This day comes along with the reports from both child youth services and and child youth advocate about the digressive state that children live in.

Poverty has man forms and colors, I personally do not see a greater physical or emotional abuse than that of having a child go hungry! Poverty shapes both families and the way they live. Families without financial resources strong enough to provide even the most basic of needs, often take on many faces, sometimes these faces can affect the way children and parents interact with each other.

Children at most ages do not understand the concept of financial restraint, and whether it's a cell phone, new $100 shoes or splash cash, if they want it, they expect to have it. Socially under developed children do not in most cases build on stereotypes, and will associate with other children from various financial abilities. Thus, when a lesser fortunate child's best friend can afford a blackberry, then it its expected he/she can have one too. Children learn quickly to be bitter, vindictive, and even threatening toward their parents when they do not get what they want. Often eating healthy or eating at all depends how often a child's wish is granted.

Food For A Week

Resource: Canada's Food Guide

Take a look, please offer your comments.


Brudder