Many New Brunswickers struggle to afford food, report finds

More than one in fivechildren in New Brunswicklive in households struggling to put food on the table, according to a new report by a University of Toronto research team.

ValerieTarasuk, the team's principal investigator and a nutritional sciences professor at the university's faculty of medicine, said such food insecurity could lead to health problems and isa damning statement on social assistance.

"What we hope is that policymakers start to take a look at their policies through this lens, because there's enough known about this problem now," she said.

"We are capable of making this problem better or worse, depending on how we design our programs."

The national report, released on Tuesday,found21 per cent of New Brunswick children under the age of 18were in "food insecure" households in 2014.

The overall provincial rate was 15.2 per cent.

"That means 15 per centof households in New Brunswick at some point in 2014 struggled to put food on the table because of a lack of food, or money for food," said Tarasuk.

"So it's a fairly significant problem and that's a fairly high percentage."

The findings are based oninformation gathered by Statistics Canada through the Canadian Community Health Survey, which asks Canadians a series of questions about their ability to afford food. In 2013-14, the food security survey was optional, and Yukon, British Columbia, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador opted out.

The reportsuggests food insecurity has reached epidemic levels in Nunavut where almosthalf of households are struggling.

Situation not improving

New Brunswick's household rate decreased slightlyfrom 2013, when it was16 per cent, the report found.

But Tarasuksays the Maritimes always stand out for their high rates of food insecurity and the numbers haven't changed much over the years.

"What's concerning for us about the Maritimes, and New Brunswick in particular, is the persistence of food insecurity at such high levels down there," she said.

In addition to provincial rates, the report examined household food insecurity in census metropolitan areas (CMAs), urban centres with populations of 100,000 or more.

Almost three quarters of the people on social assistance in the province have reported some difficulty in getting the food that they need.- ValerieTarasuk,nutritional sciences professor

The highest rates were found in Moncton and Saint John and in Peterborough, Ont., all topping 16 per cent.

Tarasuk says the big concern is the relationship between food insecurity and health.

Struggling to make ends meet can predispose people to the development of chronic conditions such as depression, diabetes and hypertension and make it harder to manage existing health issues.

Depending on the severity, Tarasuk says children living with food insecurity are more likely to develop asthma and depression, and there'sevidence to suggest food insecurity also leads to poor growth and development.

'Damning statement on social assistance'

Tarasuk says it's nosurprise the lower the income, the more likely a household will struggle to get food.

But she says when they dig more deeply, they notice "very, very high rates" for people receiving social assistance.

In New Brunswick, 73 per cent of households that reported their primary source of income was social assistance were food insecure.

"So almost three quarters of the people on social assistance in the province have reported some difficulty in getting the food that they need. So that's a fairly damning statement on social assistance in New Brunswick," said Tarasuk.

She says this is a problem that can be fixed by public policy decisions.