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Recommended Readings
Dachner, Naomi and Valerie Tarasuk. 2018. “Tackling Household Food Insecurity: An Essential Goal of a National Food Policy.” Canadian Food Studies 5(3):230–47. As the title suggests, this article is an attempt to argue for a national food policy, centred on an understanding and appreciation of the need for universal food security throughout Canada.
Henry, Lisa. 2020. Experiences of Hunger and Food Insecurity in College. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan. This book explores the causes and consequences of food insecurity among college and university students, including the effects on academic performance, physical health, and mental health.
Scanlan, Stephen J. 2018. “Hunger and Food Insecurity.” Pp. 423–40 in The Cambridge Handbook of Social Problems, edited by A.J. Trevino. Cambridge, U: Cambridge University Press. This is a masterful review of the current state of knowledge about food insecurity in the Western world.
Recommended Websites
Food Banks Canada
Food Banks Canada is the national organization representing the community of food banks across Canada. Currently, they are striving to meet the short-term food demands while looking for longer-term methods to reduce hunger. They hope to do so through various activities such as running programs, setting up partnerships, creating awareness, and conducting research.
Food Secure Canada
Food Secure Canada is an alliance of organizations and individuals based on three commitments: achieve and maintain zero hunger, develop a sustainable food system, and make healthy and safe foods easily and readily available. Together, the individuals and groups aim to advance food security in Canada by reaching out to different organizations and populations within Canada, such as the Indigenous population.
International Development Research Centre (IDRC)
Through its Canadian International Food Security Research Fund, the IDRC aims to improve food security through research. This website offers a variety of publications on food security to help alleviate hunger and poverty around the world.
Meal Exchange
Meal Exchange is a national student/youth-led charity that seeks to educate and mobilize youth to reduce local hunger and achieve food security by working within their communities. This website includes information to help youth gain more knowledge about food insecurity in Canada and the multifaceted nature of the issue as well information on how to take action.
The Working Group on Indigenous Food Sovereignty (WGIFS)
WGIFS recognizes the importance of voicing and recognizing Indigenous perspectives in the food security movement across Canada. WGIFS aims to increase awareness of the issues, concerns, and strategies that impact the food systems and security of the Indigenous members of Canada and to mobilize communities along the way.
Recommended Films
Food Stamped. 2010. Directed by Shira Potash and Yoav Potash. United States: Summit Pictures. This documentary follows a couple as they attempt to eat a healthy, balanced diet on a food stamp budget—about one dollar per meal. The documentary includes appearances by activists, nutrition experts, politicians, and citizens who use food stamps to demonstrate the struggle low-income Americans face daily.
A Place at the Table. 2013. Directed by Kristi Jacobson and Lori Silverbush. United States: Participant Media. This documentary is about food insecurity in the United States that also offers potential solutions to this growing problem.
“Price Check: Why Are Grocery Prices in Canada’s North so High?” 2019. CBC Marketplace. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbm8_m4txKY&feature=youtu.be. This episode explores the reasons behind the staggering high food prices in Canada’s North and why the Nutrition North subsidy, intended to fix the problem, has only made the crisis worse.
Wasting Away. 2014. Directed by Kathleen Martens. Canada: APTN Investigates. This short documentary exposes the harsh reality of food insecurity in Northern Canada. It also shows the failure of the Nutrition North subsidy program to live up to its promises of providing affordable and nutritious food to struggling communities such as Rankin Inlet, Nunavut.