THE COST OF EATING IN B.C - a report filed in September 2004 by the Council of Community Nutritionists:

The Impact of Low income on FOOD SECURITY AND HEALTH                               excerpts from the full report

'All British Columbias should work together to support food security actions, initiated in their community and become more informed about hunger and it's impact on the community. Your efforts are important as food Insecurity affects the whole community through increased health  care costs, decreased learning capacity for children and impaired health of the growing child'.

' Despite the resolution in the House of Commons 15 years ago (1989) to eliminate child poverty by 2000, one child in six  still lives in poverty. The Canadian situation has been unchanged for 30 years.146,000 children in BC lived in poverty in 2001. The proportion of disposable income (after taxes) spent on food for the low income family was compared to the average family. For a family unit of 3 [one parent, two children] the rates allotted are as follows:    SHELTER SUPPORT:  $555               SUPPORT ALLOWANCE:  $401 The support allowance is all that is left after paying for shelter . These remaining monies would need to be used to purchase FOOD, PLUS all other necessities including transportation, utilities,clothing, child care, personal hygiene items, laundry and cleaning supplies, school supplies and fees'.

According to the report,  the costs of a 'Healthy Food Basket'  which would be expected to include the basics for healthy eating, was estimated to be at least $459/mo for this family unit of three.. Do the math.   Right away we see a monthly Shortfall of $60 for food alone. And what about all those other necessities ?  The foods included in the nutritious Food Basket are as follows 2% milk, fruit-flavoured yogurt, medium cheddar cheese, processed cheddar cheese slices, partly skim mozzarella cheese, vanilla ice cream ; round steak, stewing beef, regular ground beef, pork loin chops, chicken legs (no back), sliced cooked ham, frozen fish fillets (cod, haddock,sole, Boston blue fish or Alaskan pollock depending on availability), canned pink salmon, canned flaked light water packed tuna, large eggs—one dozen, canned baked beans in tomato sauce, dried navy beans, white pea beans, peanut butter, white bread, whole wheat bread, hot dog/hamburger buns, all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, dry macaroni or spaghetti, long grain white rice, macaroni and cheese dinner,regular cooking oatmeal, salted soda crackers, social tea cookies, Corn Flakes® and oranges, canned unsweetened apple juice, frozen orange juice  concentrate, tomatoes, canned whole tomatoes, tomato juice, potatoes, frozen French fried potatoes, pears, green grapes, canned fruit cocktail, bananas, Macintosh apples, Sultana raisins, iceberg (head) lettuce, romaine lettuce, frozen mixed vegetables, canned corn, canned peas, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, celery, field cucumber, onions, green pepper, rutabagas a margarine in which the grams of mono and polyunsaturated fats add up to 6 g or more in a 10 g serving (as shown on the nutrition label), butter, canola oil, mayonnaise-type salad dressing, white sugar, strawberry jam'.

READ THE FULL REPORT pdf

This sounds pretty good all in all, if only..... The single mother of two would love to be able to provide these basic necessities to her children, yet alas, let's not forget the monthly shortfall of $60.  Under this circumstance at least 1/3 of the suggested items of the above noted Healthy Food Basket would have to be eliminated. Her food allottment is only $400. That breaks down to $100 per week,  which further breaks down to about $33 per week for each of the three.  Let's get really serious and break this down to a daily amount:  each day then, there is an individual allottment of less than $5,which would need to be stretched to three meals a day [at least for the children].  How easy is it to feed your child for a meal costing under $1.50 ?    Day in and day out.  Is this all our children are worth ?  Have you ever personally experienced this concept of FOOD INSECURITY ?                                             Consider the stress of facing it every day. Let's remember also, that what we have focused on here is merely food. As we have already seen . food insecurity is already an issue,  but what about all those other necessities ? Well, to begin with, we have to deduct at least another $50 per month from the food bill to pay for essential non-edibles: toilet paper, feminine hygiene products, soap, toothpaste, shampoo and dish detergent, medicines, laundry soap, etc [not to mention diapers].                                   NOW THE FOOD BUDGET DROPS TO $350 a month.

Food Banks