Perspective Food Insecurity, Michael Classens and Mary Anne Martin

PERSPECTIVE FOOD INSECURITY MICHAEL AND MARY ANNE MARTIN FROM CHARITY TO SOLIDARITY FOOD INSECURITY AND IMAGINING OTHER WORLDS Michael is a White settler man and Assistant sor in the School of the Environment at University of . He is broadly interested in areas of social and environmental As a teacher , researcher , learner , and activist , he is committed to connecting theory with practice , and scholarship with logical change . Michael lives in with his partner , three kids , and dog named Sue . justice , with an emphasis on these dynamics within food systems . 442 FOOD INSECURITY

Mam Anne Martin is a White settler woman and adjunct member in the Master in Sustainable Studies gram at Trent University . Her interests include household food insecurity , the impact of food initiatives , and intersections between gender and food systems . She actively in food policy initiatives and is dedicated to fostering social change through collaborations Learning Outcomes After reading and discussing this text , students should be able to Describe the systemic dynamics that contribute to food ( in ) security Understand the be able to express the limits of food ity Interpret new paradigms that can reframe food insecurity and support its solutions INTRODUCTION The global COVID pandemic has had food systems implications , including for those experiencing food insecurity and for food justice organizations , advocates , and activists . scholars witnessed how food justice and allied organizations shifted the focus of their work as COVID descended . In a moment of acute and cascading crisis , many organizations returned ( if perhaps temporarily ) to a food bank model . This case , looking at an example from MICHAEL AND MARY ANNE MARTIN 443

, Canada , provides reflections on a number of themes that emerged in the intervening months related to food , food systems change , and broader issues of social change . SETTING THE TABLE How we understand the problems associated with our food is a function , in part , of how we conceive of our food in the first place . For food scholars and activists , understanding food systems means being attentive to a wide range of issues , including historically specific webs of social relations , processes , structures , and institutional that cover human interaction with nature and with other humans involving the production , distribution , preparation , consumption , and disposal of What this means in practice isn always so clear , however . Nonetheless , thinking through food insecurity , and responses to it , can help provide some clarity and demonstrate why the way we think about food systems . For an illustration capturing some of the complexity of these dynamics , see Figure below . By any measure , food insecurity is a crisis in Canada , and around the world , and it has worsened during the pandemic . The United Nations World Food Programme estimates that there are nearly 700 million food insecure people worldwide , 270 million of whom experience crisis levels of hunger , meaning that they face severe calorie deficiencies and are at high risk of In more stark terms , the organization estimates that between and people may be dying of hunger every In Canada , about million people were living with food insecurity before ( et al . 2012 , xiv . Food Programme , Ibid . 444 FOOD INSECURITY

the global By May of 2020 , just a few months into the pandemic , food insecurity had risen by 39 It is important to keep in mind that these alarming food rates are unequally distributed across the population , so some demographic groups are much more likely to experience food insecurity than others . For example , a study conducted in found that Black households are about half times more likely to be food insecure than White Indigenous populations throughout the territory known as Canada experience rates of food insecurity from as high as 33 off to 100 on reserves Among all income ets , rates of food insecurity are highest for households in the lowest income bracket , and the prevalence of food insecurity declines as household income These numbers ( and others ) demonstrate that food insecurity isn just a food issue , narrowly conceived . Food access is structured within unequal , cultural , and ecological systems . In other words , food insecurity is an issue of equity and justice . One of the main ways we have attempted to address food in Canada is through food banks . While they may seem like timeless institutions , Canada first food bank opened in in 1981 to provide temporary measures to support people struggling within the compounding context of high rates of , recession , and federal unemployment and provincial social These interventions were . Mitchell 2020 , Statistics Canada 2020 , 2019 , Health Canada 2006 , 15 . Thompson et al . 2011 , 24 . Mitchell 2020 , 10 . 10 . Wakefield et al . 2012 . MICHAEL AND MARY ANNE MARTIN 445

always intended to be , measures , and yet , by the , there were over 75 food banks across This was just the beginning of the normalization and of the charitable food banking model in Banks Canada reports that there are now more than 3000 food banks and frontline agencies in their The problem is , there are far more food insecure people in Canada now than ever before . So , if the point of food banks is to provide food to those in need of it , they arent succeeding even on their own terms . In fact , research shows that only about one in five food insecure people even use food In contrast to food banks , many organizations can be considered food justice organizations . These organizations don understand food insecurity as simply the absence of food , but rather they conceive of food insecurity as a result of broader , inequitable structures resulting from colonialism , White supremacy , and unfettered capitalism . Consequently , they also frame food insecurity as more than simply a food issue . As a result of looking at the entire food system through and equity lenses , many food justice organizations understand the root causes of food insecurity as comprising intersecting social , political , and ecological inequities , and therefore propose beyond food banks . a leading food justice organization in , was founded in 1985 . It was originally established as a temporary initiative to coordinate among . Riches 1986 , 22 . 12 . Food Banks Canada , 2020 . 13 . et al , 2020 , up . 446 FOOD INSECURITY

the City of 45 front line emergency food service agencies . Very quickly , the organization understood that broader systems change was required to address the and root causes of hunger . Today , is to pursuing food justice in ways that centre the experience of those most impacted by poverty and food , Indigenous , People of Colour and ple with Disabilities through a variety of programs and initiatives that go far beyond the food bank model . So , for example , rather than simply providing , highly processed food to those in need , some food justice organizations offer weekly box programs . Some support the establishment of farmers markets in , marginalized , and communities ( communities that typically don have access to farmers markets ) In some cases , these buy directly from local growers , in an attempt to address food insecurity while also supporting local , to the struggles of both marginalized eaters and growers . Beyond providing food for those who need it , some food justice activists , organizations and networks also agitate for policy change . As an example , there have recently been various efforts by a diverse network of food justice and other organizations to compel the federal government to institute a basic income ( in Canada . This means that all Canadians would be provided with a sufficient and guaranteed income to meet their basic needs , including food . Research shows that when people have a reliable MICHAEL AND MARY ANNE MARTIN 447

14 . 15 . 16 . and sufficient income , rates of food insecurity are significantly Other research points to the political economy of our food tem , noting that food is in fact a human right , and that Canada is legally bound by international agreements to fulfill the right to In Canada just four , Metro , and upwards of 80 of the retail And these companies prefer establishing larger stores typically in areas , resulting in an unequal distribution of food access across Canada . Food , many advocates argue , is too tant to be treated as a commodity governed by a retail oligopoly . When the impact of the COVID pandemic began to be felt across Canada , and rates of food insecurity began to spike , we saw many food justice least a food food bank model . In part , this reflects the efforts of food justice organizations to respond to the increasing intensity of the food insecurity crisis during the pandemic in whatever ways they could . However , this response was also the result of the eral government nudging organizations in the food bank tion . By December 2021 , the federal government made 330 million available through the Emergency Food Security Fund . These funds were disbursed through a handful of national and regional emergency food and food justice agencies to smaller , serving organizations . The money was earmarked for the purchase of emergency food provisions , personal protective equipment , and to hire additional In other words , the Canadian federal government conscripted food banks as well as food justice and community development organizations into its 2017 . Food Secure Canada 2012 , 2021 , Agriculture and Canada 2021 . 448 FOOD INSECURITY

efforts to address dramatically increasing rates of food insecurity across the country through charity emergency food ing . i EI is , III on , El . Figure This graphic was produced by illustrator Jason Wilkins at a titled Thinkin outside the donation box featuring Elaine Power and Rod . It captures some of the ways we can think about addressing food insecurity beyond food banks . SOLIDARITY , NOT CHARITY The first six months of the pandemic were profoundly for many food justice organizations as they adjusted to increased demand for basic services , a reduced volunteer base , emotionally exhausted staff , intense uncertainty , and increasingly marginalized community . While these challenges persist , many organizations have MICHAEL AND MARY ANNE MARTIN 449

18 . 19 . recalibrated within this difficult context and , in ongoing of the need for food justice , are redoubling their efforts to realize broader structural social change . a leading food justice organization in , for example , has recently underscored their commitment to food justice , democratic , and political mobilization as we transition out of the global The COVID the spectre of new , different resulting from our and globalized food the words of feminist philosopher Val truer now than ever before , If our species does not survive it will probably be due to our failure . work out new ways to live with the earth , to ourselves We will go onwards in a different mode of humanity , or not at 19 One way to reframe this sentiment within the context of food insecurity is to move beyond thinking about how to end food insecurity , to thinking about how we can create a world within which food insecurity is unthinkable . As as it may be , there are no clear blueprints to direct us on how to do this . However , there are paradigms and ways of thinking that can inform the development of a prehensive and integrated plan to transition toward more just and equitable food systems . The feminist economists illuminate how ways of knowing and being in the world are already informing how we can move beyond the need for charity . They see hope in reciprocal relationships , mutual port , care work , and myriad other everyday occurrences that exist outside of the formal capitalist economy . In this , they see the beginnings of a new economic ethic for the 2020 , up . 2007 , See for example , 1996 2006 . 450 FOOD INSECURITY

way of reclaiming the economy as a site of equitable decision making , not simply the accumulation of profit . The global peasant movement , La Via , similarly understands food systems as entanglements of relationships through which to advance equity and justice , a that contrasts markedly with the dominant capitalist food system within which food is treated as a simple commodity . La Via advances food sovereignty and , food systems paradigms that promote equity , democratic , and empowerment of traditionally marginalized groups of people . In various places around the world , these approaches espoused by La Via have demonstrably resulted in better overall nutrition and enhanced food Another paradigm that can help broaden our political nation is the notion of mutual aid . This perspective contrasts explicitly with the charitable model by weaving ways of ing each other into the very fabric of everyday life . It should also be noted that in contrast to some of the approaches above , mutual aid assumes that it is unlikely that the state will ever substantively support food justice . However , the resources and policy levers of the state are still necessary for effecting change on a profound and universal basis . As the Big Door Brigade puts it , Mutual aid is when people get together to meet each others basic survival needs with a shared standing that the systems we live under are not going to meet our 22 The movement is gaining traction , and recently the United States Congresswoman Alexandrian on the development of a how to mutual aid The activist and lawyer , Dean Spade , 21 . Ogle et al . 2001 et . 22 . Big Door Brigade , 23 . See . MICHAEL AND MARY ANNE MARTIN 451

argues that moving from charity to solidarity through mutual aid strategies will be the most effective way to support vulnerable populations to survive , mobilize significant resistance , and build the infrastructure we need for the coming 24 ( RE ) THE TABLE That the negative consequences of the global pandemic have been so disproportionately shouldered by those who are already struggling underscores the fundamental inequities in our world . In Canada , our initial response to deepening food insecurity was to double down on a food charity model that we already knew was ineffective . However , this acute crisis has also inspired many food justice organizations , activists , and scholars to intensify their commitment to food justice , and to imagine new ways of organizing our relationships with each other and nature in ways that make inequity unthinkable . Discussion Questions Why might one social location have an impact on their level of food ( in ) security ?

What other food issues might be reframed by looking at them through and equity lenses ?

How can we reframe our relationship with food in our everyday lives ?

What are the limits of vidual actions on those relationships ?

24 . Spade 2020 , 131 . 452 FOOD INSECURITY Find and compare websites of a food bank and a food justice in your area . How does each frame food ?

What activities does each organization do ?

What differences do you notice ?

Additional Resources ' Door Brigade Community Economies Food Secure Canada La Via Nourish Project References Agriculture and Canada . 2021 . Emergency Food Big Door Brigade . What is Mutual Aid ?

Food Banks Canada . 2020 . Relieving and Preventing Hunger in Food Secure Canada . 2012 . The Right to Food in . Food to MICHAEL AND MARY ANNE MARTIN 453 , 2006 . A Politics . University of Minnesota Press . 1996 . The End of Capitalism ( As We Knew It ) University of Minnesota Press . Health Canada . 2004 . Canadian Community Health Survey , Cycle , Nutrition ( 2004 ) Household Food Security in , Sumner , and . Critical Perspectives in Food Studies . Don Mills , ON Oxford University Press . Minister of Health , Office of Nutrition Policy and Promotion , Health Products and Food Branch , Health Canada , Canada . 2006 . 2021 . Equitable Access to the Food Distribution Ogle , Dao , and . 2012 . Micronutrient Composition and Nutritional Importance of Gathered Vegetables in International journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition 52 ( A review of Deborah Bird Rose Reports from a Wild Country Ethics of . Australian Humanities Review 42 ( 2007 ) Riches , 1986 . Food Banks and the Welfare Crisis . dian Council on Social Development . Islam , and . 2003 . Small Indigenous Fish Species in Contribution to Vitamin A , Calcium and Iron journal of Nutrition 133 ( 11 ) 454 FOOD INSECURITY

Simran , and . 2019 . Race and Food Insecurity Fact Research to PROOF Food Insecurity Policy Research and . Spade , 2020 . Solidarity Not Charity Mutual Aid for and Social Text 142 ( Statistics Canada . Food Insecurity During the , May une 24 , 2020 . 2017 . Implications of a Basic Income Guarantee for Household Food Insecurity . Research Paper Thunder Bay Northern Policy Institute . and , 2020 . The relationship between food banks and food insecurity Insights from VOLUNTAS International journal of and Nonprofit Organizations . 31 , and Mitchell . 2020 . Household Food Insecurity in Canada PROOF Food Insecurity Policy Research . Thompson , Ballard , Beardy , Islam , and Wong . 2011 . Is Community Economic Putting Health Food on the Table ?

Food Sovereignty in Northern Aboriginal The journal of Aboriginal Economic Development ( Wakefield , Fleming , and Skinner . 2012 . Sweet Charity , Revisited Organizational Response to Food Insecurity in Hamilton and , Critical Social Policy 33 ( World Food Programme . 2020 . World Food Programme to Assist Largest Number of Hungry People Ever , as Devastates Poor une , 29 2020 . MICHAEL AND MARY ANNE MARTIN 455