This week, Dietitians of Canada-B.C. Region released the 2011 Cost of Eating in B.C.a report card, of sorts, on the current costs for individuals and families in our province to access an adequate amount of food to maintain good health.
The report, which has been published annually for the past ten years by the B.C. Community Nutritionists Council, also informs us about how these costs relate to our income levels and what our province is doing to help its residents meet the basic need of eating nutritiously.
B.C. has the highest poverty rate in Canada: 12 per cent. Its no surprise that for a number of reasons many of us dont have access to sufficient food.
According to the recent release, the 2011 average monthly cost of the nutritious food basket for a family of four in B.C. is $868. But the actual food expense varies from community to community within each region. Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Coastal Health has the heftiest monthly food cost at $944; the Interior Health region has the lowest, at $832.
The nutritious food basket is defined as the quantity and cost of about 60 food items that represent a basic, nutritious diet for different ages and sexes according to Canadas Food Guide. The basket doesnt include items that are a large part of our modern diet: restaurant, take-out or pre-packaged foods. It contains food staples that require preparation before eating.
Since the reports first edition in 2001, the cost of the food basket has increased by 38 per cent making access to food particularly precarious for those earning low wages or receiving government assistance.
Families and individuals on income assistance in B.C. require anywhere from 34 to 49 per cent of their disposable income to pay for food. (A family earning the provincial median income of $ 67,200 only puts out 15 per cent.) And income assistance rates continue to remain virtually unchanged, despite a substantial increase in the cost of living over the past few years, says the release.
The absence of food security can lead to a variety of negative health effects including poor pregnancy outcomes, poor growth and development in children, learning deficits and poor school performance, increased illness, higher medical costs, decreased life expectancy and, of course, heightened emotional stress.
When individual households suffer food insecurity our communities feel it too with greater health care costs and lost economic activity, not to mention increased crime and policing costs. Actions taken to deal with food insecurity are better framed from a community perspective rather than an individual one.
On this note, the B.C. government has received a failing grade based on Dietitians of Canadas report. Despite a wealth of research, statistics and policy suggestions on the subject, little has changed in our province regarding legislated food security and poverty reduction initiatives.
On top of creating sustainable food systems that no longer rely on food banks, all levels of government in B.C. must update income assistance to reflect the current cost of living in the province, include affordable housing in community planning projects and enact a living wage policy.
But most importantly, strategies are needed to end, or at least dramatically reduce, poverty levels in B.C. Child poverty remains the highest in Canada for eight straight years. To maintain the status quo of poverty, the cost to the province is an overwhelming $8.1 to 9.2 billion per year.
The implementation of a poverty reduction strategy would cost half that, about $4 billion. By not addressing the issue of poverty, governments and citizens are losing money and lives are negatively affected, says the release.
For more information on the 2011 Cost of Eating in B.C. report, visit dietitians.ca/BCcostofeating.
Linda Watts is a registered dietitian. Send questions to [email protected].
