Tis the season to be jolly – food a lalalalalalala
Food during the holidays; a necessity for some, a luxury for others!
Dec.19, 2009
By: Farheen Khan
The holidays: A joyous time when individuals, families and communities celebrate their festivities in their own way. Lots of events each and every day; stoves fired up, baking pans, pots and creative recipes emerging, the holidays are a time to really slow down and indulge in food. Christmas carols ringing in my ears as I walk down the street and into the very festively decorated stores. But among all of the hollies, wreaths and Christmas lights, I can’t help but remember how privileged I am like many others, to pick up groceries from the local market and decide on what I will be baking, cooking and/or roasting for family and friends. Inevitably our festivities are very “food centric”, but there’s a population of growing number, where food is not a commodity, but rather a luxury.
Holidays a time of giving - We can all agree that regardless of what set of values we follow, the holidays are considered to be a time of “giving”; a time where we look towards people who are less fortunate and offer them a hand. In a country such as Canada where we pride ourselves of being a “developed” country that is out to solve global issues, it’s hard to even fathom the statistics that you are about to read: According to a statistic from the HungerReport 2006, 2.7 million Canadians don’t know where their next meal is coming from and the first step in addressing this is to provide them with a meal. Imagine, being a working parent who is concerned each and every day about where your groceries will come from the next day. Will there be enough bread to send my child school? Will I have milk to feed my baby; always living on the verge of hunger and food insecurity? The issue of “food security” is a big one.
What is Food Security? Food security is the right to have access to nutritious healthy food for all at all times. Although we recognize that food banks are a bandage solution to much larger systemic barriers that exist and need to be advocated against, the need for these services still exists. According to the Food Banks of Ontario report titled “Living with Hunger”: 33.4% of households turning to food banks, at least one member regularly misses three or more meals per week, or one day worth of food, due to lack of money. Within these families, only 5% of households have $500 or more available in a savings or chequing account and the average monthly household income is $1,321. And in the newcomer communities, 54% of new Canadians, living in Canada four years or less turn to food banks.
So what can you or I do about this? There are organizations such as the Color of Poverty and CASSA advocating for long term, systemic change while others work on the ground. Meal Exchange, one such organization, works on campuses to raise funds for hunger, not only for students dealing with food security concerns, but also for individuals, families and communities off campuses that also deal with similar issues. And now new organization has emerged: “ReliefWorks”, a Muslim run organization focused on engaging young people in social justice causes through Islamic arts and music is launching the “Feed Me Winter Campaign”.
The campaign run in partnership with Meal Exchange and CASSA (Council of Agencies Serving South Asians) will be the first National hunger campaign run by Muslims, primarily young people across Canada. And what better time to launch such a campaign, then to do so during the holiday season, when we’re all in the spirit of giving!
It’s time we take a stand on Food Security! There is no reason why as Canadians, anyone of us should have to worry where our next meal is coming from. We often hear about people living malnourished lives in “underdeveloped” countries and even that is unacceptable, but for a country where we pride ourselves about being “developed”, equitable and inclusive, it’s unimaginable that people like you and I are threatened to deal with food insecurity. So please do your part, join the effort, visit www.relief-works.com to see how you can help make the dream of eradicating hunger in Canada a reality!
Click here to go back to Publications Page.
Food during the holidays; a necessity for some, a luxury for others!
Dec.19, 2009
By: Farheen Khan
The holidays: A joyous time when individuals, families and communities celebrate their festivities in their own way. Lots of events each and every day; stoves fired up, baking pans, pots and creative recipes emerging, the holidays are a time to really slow down and indulge in food. Christmas carols ringing in my ears as I walk down the street and into the very festively decorated stores. But among all of the hollies, wreaths and Christmas lights, I can’t help but remember how privileged I am like many others, to pick up groceries from the local market and decide on what I will be baking, cooking and/or roasting for family and friends. Inevitably our festivities are very “food centric”, but there’s a population of growing number, where food is not a commodity, but rather a luxury.
Holidays a time of giving - We can all agree that regardless of what set of values we follow, the holidays are considered to be a time of “giving”; a time where we look towards people who are less fortunate and offer them a hand. In a country such as Canada where we pride ourselves of being a “developed” country that is out to solve global issues, it’s hard to even fathom the statistics that you are about to read: According to a statistic from the HungerReport 2006, 2.7 million Canadians don’t know where their next meal is coming from and the first step in addressing this is to provide them with a meal. Imagine, being a working parent who is concerned each and every day about where your groceries will come from the next day. Will there be enough bread to send my child school? Will I have milk to feed my baby; always living on the verge of hunger and food insecurity? The issue of “food security” is a big one.
What is Food Security? Food security is the right to have access to nutritious healthy food for all at all times. Although we recognize that food banks are a bandage solution to much larger systemic barriers that exist and need to be advocated against, the need for these services still exists. According to the Food Banks of Ontario report titled “Living with Hunger”: 33.4% of households turning to food banks, at least one member regularly misses three or more meals per week, or one day worth of food, due to lack of money. Within these families, only 5% of households have $500 or more available in a savings or chequing account and the average monthly household income is $1,321. And in the newcomer communities, 54% of new Canadians, living in Canada four years or less turn to food banks.
So what can you or I do about this? There are organizations such as the Color of Poverty and CASSA advocating for long term, systemic change while others work on the ground. Meal Exchange, one such organization, works on campuses to raise funds for hunger, not only for students dealing with food security concerns, but also for individuals, families and communities off campuses that also deal with similar issues. And now new organization has emerged: “ReliefWorks”, a Muslim run organization focused on engaging young people in social justice causes through Islamic arts and music is launching the “Feed Me Winter Campaign”.
The campaign run in partnership with Meal Exchange and CASSA (Council of Agencies Serving South Asians) will be the first National hunger campaign run by Muslims, primarily young people across Canada. And what better time to launch such a campaign, then to do so during the holiday season, when we’re all in the spirit of giving!
It’s time we take a stand on Food Security! There is no reason why as Canadians, anyone of us should have to worry where our next meal is coming from. We often hear about people living malnourished lives in “underdeveloped” countries and even that is unacceptable, but for a country where we pride ourselves about being “developed”, equitable and inclusive, it’s unimaginable that people like you and I are threatened to deal with food insecurity. So please do your part, join the effort, visit www.relief-works.com to see how you can help make the dream of eradicating hunger in Canada a reality!
Click here to go back to Publications Page.
