A Glimpse of Child Hunger in Canada

1. Introduction

Canada is a rich country in global terms and is ranked first in the United Nations' Human Development Index (UNDP, 1997). Canada has also enjoyed more than 50 years of social development since the Second World War to build a post-industrial society that has a strong social framework. Yet poverty is a reality in Canada and growing child poverty is a matter of national concern. The last decade has seen the reduction of spending on social programs and an erosion of the social safety net. As a consequence of this erosion, the poverty rate for Canada's children has risen to one in five nationally. These children are more likely to live in lone parent-headed households, usually headed by women. Thus, the poverty of young children in often a reflection of the poverty of their lone mothers (Canadian Council of Social Development, 1997). Poverty and ill-health go hand-in-hand and sociologists debate which leads and which follows. For children, the consequences of growing up in poverty too often mean ill-health, poor nutrition, unhealthy child development, and poor school readiness (Doherty, 1997).

The purpose of this paper is to glimpse child poverty using a hunger lens. Hunger is a universal symbol of deprivation and is an unacceptable consequence of poverty in any responsible society.

1.1 Hunger and Food Insecurity in Canada

Although the word 'hunger' actually refers to the physiological discomfort resulting from a lack of food (Life Sciences Research Office, 1990), broader concepts of hunger in Western society have defined it as "the inability to obtain sufficient, nutritious, personally acceptable food through normal food channels or the uncertainty that one will be able to do so" (Davis & Tarasuk, 1994, p.51). The concept of 'food insecurity' has also been used to refer to the psychological, social, and quality of life concerns that are associated with the experience of being hungry. Food insecurity occurs when "the availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods or the ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways is limited or uncertain" (Life Sciences Research Office, 1990).

1.2 Determinants of Food Insecurity in Canada

One of the main causes of food insecurity in Canada is poverty (Campbell, 1991) or anything that contributes to poverty such as the rise in long-term unemployment, the costs of housing and other basic needs, and cut-backs to social services (Riches, 1989). Individuals most at risk for poverty include welfare recipients, single mothers, the elderly, and the unemployed (Epp, 1986). Younger mothers and those with lower educational attainments and socio-economic status have also been over-represented in studies examining the risks of poverty and hunger in low-income families (Badun, Evers, & Hooper, 1995; Miller & Korenman, 1994; Shah, Kahan, & Krauser, 1987). In fact, lone parent families headed by women have the highest incidence of poverty for all family types (National Council on Welfare, 1997).

The relationship between poverty and food insecurity is simple — less money means less food is procured, and food is of poorer quality. When money is scarce, available funds are often directed to housing and living costs, as these are seen as essential and inflexible expenses (Davis et. al., 1991; Travers, 1996). Travers' study of economically disadvantaged women in urban Nova Scotia, 80% of whom were living either partially or fully on social assistance benefits, found that money allocated for food was being depleted in meeting other needs. Campbell, Katamay, & Connolly (1988) also concluded that after meeting only basic shelter and food needs, families living on social assistance had either very little or no money left over depending on their province of residence.

Historically, Canadian social programs have focused on the alleviation of poverty through income assistance and universal access to services, and not on the alleviation of the consequences of poverty, such as hunger (Tarasuk & Davis, 1996). However, the Canadian welfare state is in a state of flux with efforts at deficit reduction appearing to take precedence over social programs. For example, the introduction of Canadian Health and Social Transfer (CHST) as a replacement for the Canada Assistance Plan (CAP) in April 1996 effectively removed CAP's underlying principle of "the right to financial assistance to meet basic needs regardless of cause" from Canadian policy (National Council of Welfare, 1987). Although access to medical care may still be universal, access to resources that nurture health, such as affordable, nutritious food, is not universal (Travers, 1994).

1.3 Consequences of Hunger and Food Insecurity

In Canada, dietary inadequacy, as a consequence of food insecurity, and nutritional and other indicators of ill-health, have been shown to be directly related to the level of income and the amount of money available to be spent on food. This relationship between health and food security has been found in both adults and children (Maxwell & Simkins, 1985; Shah, Kahan, & Krauser, 1987; Myres & Kroetsch, 1978; Badun, Evers, & Hooper, 1995). Nutritionally deprived children experience more health problems than food-secure children including anemia, weight loss, colds, and infections. Additionally, they are more prone to school absences, and may encounter challenges in both concentration and learning (Skolnick, 1995; Wehler, Scott, & Anderson, 1992).

1.4 Coping with Hunger and Food Insecurity

The rise of charitable food assistance, such as food banks and children's feeding programs, is an indicator of hunger and food insecurity in Canada. The use of food assistance is one coping mechanism families use when confronting food insecurity. Although food banks and feeding programs began as community-based responses to the increasing number of low income people unable to meet their food needs (Tarasuk & Davis, 1996), their proliferation and methods of operation suggest that they have become institutionalized (Tarasuk & MacLean, 1990; McIntyre & Dayle, 1992; Tarasuk & Davis, 1996; Travers, 1996). Recent American data indicate a statistically significant increase in reliance on emergency food programs with decreasing income (Wehler et al, 1992), suggesting that poverty and use of charitable food assistance are interdependent. Yet, access to such programs is contingent upon program availability (Tarasuk & Davis, 1996) and willingness of individuals to access them (Radimer, Olson, & Campbell, 1990; Dodds, Ahluwalia, & Baligh, 1990). For example, in one Ontario community, only twenty percent of low-income families who were identified as experiencing low food security used food banks within the previous three months (Badun et al, 1995).

Another coping strategy noted in studies of families confronting food insecurity is compromising the food intake of one family member, usually the mother, in order to feed the children (Campbell & Desjardin, 1989; Radimer et al, 1992; Tarasuk & MacLean, 1990a). Maternal self-deprivation seems to be a consequence of food insecurity in families. Welfare critics are challenging the impact of policies directed at improving the well-being of poor children at the expense of the health of their mothers (Chavkin, Wise, & Elman, 1998).

1.5 How Many Hungry Children Are There?

While poverty is all too common in Canada, affecting about one child in five (Canadian Council on Social Development, 1997), hunger is believed to be a rare manifestation of food insecurity in this country. American studies have indicated that at least 4 million children under the age of 12 years experience hunger at least part of the year, and that an additional 9.6 million are at risk of hunger during at least one month of the year (Skolnick, 1995; Sidel, 1997). Comparable analyses have not been done in Canada.

The National Longitudinal Study of Children and Youth (NLSCY) represents a unique opportunity to examine the characteristics of, and coping strategies used by, families experiencing hunger and food insecurity. It is the first national survey with data which permits a glimpse of the problem of hunger and food insecurity among children in Canada.