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Federated Anti-Poverty Groups of British Columbia
Publisher: Submission to People's Food Commission, New Westminster, CanadaYear Published: 1979 Pages: 5pp Resource Type: Article Cx Number: CX957 The above Federation is made up of citizens' groups and individuals working together for change in the low-income people in British Columbia. Abstract: The above Federation is made up of citizens' groups and individuals working together for change in the low-income people in British Columbia. On May 4, 1979, this federation made a submission to the People's Food Commission in which they paint a picture of the poor-whose incomes were already inadequate-and who are now under greater pressure, given today's food prices, to achieve a balanced diet. It is noted that in British Columbia the total number of poor, including those on income assistance and working poor who receive comparable incomes, is somewhere between 450 and 500 thousand. The paper recalls that meeting emergencies comes before food. To contrast its point, the Federation checked the recommended servings from the Canada Food Guidelines of whole wheat bread and two-per cent milk alone against the prior week's prices at a medium-priced supermarket and found a family of three would spend over 20 per cent of its total support allowance. This allowance also covers clothing, transportation, recreation, non-prescription drugs, household necessities, school expenses, and special needs. The alternative: "…eat less." In addition, the paper touches on infant mortality, learning disabilities caused by poor nutrition, the widening gap between rich and poor, government saving on income assistance while spending on hospitals, mental institutions, courts and jails "which are used far more by the poor than the non-poor." The Federation concludes: "But what will help most is the acknowledgement that adequate food is a right for every Canadian, and that we must guarantee that right through adequate income assistance programs." Subject Headings |