Braden Shugarman

Canada
Grade 10
Winston Churchill High School

In recent years, the issue of hunger has become in extremely prevalent to the citizens of
Canada. Moreover, Canada first recognized this issue in the 1980s when they opened
their first food banks. The creation of these food banks was a direct result from the social
recession, as well as the terrible federal UI benefits and provincial social assistance. Not
only does Canada have a surprisingly large population of those deprived of food, but also
with the large corporal effort, the Canadian government has yet to address the issue of
hunger.
The population of Canada is thirty five million people, which is smaller than the
population of California, rather one in eight Canadian families struggle to put food on the
table everyday. Additionally, the Canadian government has not dealt with the issue at all,
although in 1976 Canada ratified International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights, it has yet to act upon it in thirty nine years. The government relies on
food banks and large charities set up by independently large corporations, such as Kraft,
Campbell, and many more. Canadians believe that the local solutions set up for hunger
are band aid solutions, then for the government to permanently patch up. Furthermore,
some Canadians feel Food banks are doing more harm than good, because the system is
outdated and gives expired food products. However, this view depends on the province,
because the food banks in Ontario are extremely successful by feeding over four hundred
twelve thousand people monthly; on the other hand, some food banks arent beneficial at
all. This system shows the lack of unity that the Canadian governmental system brings
upon its provinces, therefore leaving hunger ineffectively solved.
With this in mind, the Canadian government appears dormant in the issue of hunger, and
there is a need to cultivate the food banks into a union. Each and every food bank should
communicate with one another and establish a conformity of what food to be handed out,
how much to spend on food, how much to give out, etc. Similarly, food banks provide
food for those in need, and the people that are in that position is due to the immense
poverty in Canada from low income. So, as the poverty line remains relatively constant,
food banks are going to need more federal policies passed to get people out of poverty.
As the Canadian government continues to raises it taxes and lower benefits, it destroys
those who cannot afford to pay for food, and makes them reliant on food banks. Hence,
the Canadian government needs to pass policies in favor of ending hunger, and stop
hurting those in poverty by making them spend more.
1. FAO. 2011. Global food losses and food waste Extent, causes and prevention.
Rome
2. Fotheringham, Erin. "Food Banks Don't Want to Be in Business, But Hunger in
Canada Is Growing." Huff Post. N.p., 12 Oct. 2013. Web. 18 Oct. 2015.
<http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/ontario-association-of-food-banks/more-than-afood-bank_b_4085669.html>.
3. Riches, Graham. "Why Governments Can Safely Ignore Hunger." CCPA. N.p., 1
Feb. 2011. Web. 18 Oct. 2015.
<https://www.policyalternatives.ca/publications/monitor/why-governments-cansafely-ignore-hunger>.

Braden Shugarman
Canada
Grade 10
Winston Churchill High School

1. FAO. 2011. Global food losses and food waste Extent, causes and prevention.
Rome
2. Fotheringham, Erin. "Food Banks Don't Want to Be in Business, But Hunger in
Canada Is Growing." Huff Post. N.p., 12 Oct. 2013. Web. 18 Oct. 2015.
<http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/ontario-association-of-food-banks/more-than-afood-bank_b_4085669.html>.
3. Riches, Graham. "Why Governments Can Safely Ignore Hunger." CCPA. N.p., 1
Feb. 2011. Web. 18 Oct. 2015.
<https://www.policyalternatives.ca/publications/monitor/why-governments-cansafely-ignore-hunger>.