The Toronto food problem can in part be described by how a significant number of individuals are still food insecure. In challenging the built environment to provide solutions to this problem the accessibility, affordability, adequacy, and appropriateness of foods offered in food banks will be discussed. Food banks have received attention in recent years and conquered up debate as to whether these methods were in fact helpful to populations or degrading and inadequate.
Valerie Tarasuk is an author that writes about food insecurity and “the problem”; her theory of food security will be contrasted and compared against Wayne Roberts (the Toronto Food Policy Council President).
I cannot speak for Tarasuk in answering whether or not she thinks food banks are a viable solution to the food insecurity problem, what I do know is that she focuses her discussion on very low income groups. Her focus is these people need to eat. Period. She is less concerned about what they eat, but challenges us to just have everybody fed. Additionally, plainly put, she believes that a better distribution of money would be the means to have this accomplished. Seeing how very low-income families spend the greater portion of money on foods, she has no doubt, and the literature supports her, that these people would be spending money on foods. Furthermore, she is less concerned where that money is being spent: on an apple or burger… not her concern.
Whereas, Wayne Roberts perhaps is more idealistic in that having everybody fed is simply not good enough. According to his perspective, people need to have culturally appropriate and healthy foods.
In reference to my previous blog, “Tricking parents to eat fruits and vegetables” perhaps our paradigm was wrong in relation to the food security problem. Perhaps telling people fruits and vegetables are good for you isn’t good enough…. As far as Malcolm Gladwell discussion went in TVO, seatbelts were right in front of parents and they were told over and over by public safety campaigns the importance of buckling up… didn’t happen, until they scared parents into buckling up for the safety of their children.
What I propose, is that maybe Valerie is onto something here. Maybe people need to develop their own agency… people don’t like to be told what to do… perhaps educating people that fruits are healthy isn’t the problem here…
With that said I’m not sure money distribution is the problem either, seeing how only 33% of high income groups (compare to 18% of low income groups) are reaching their recommended amount of green leafy vegetables (63%, and 57% respectively for total fruits) (USDA, 2009). Therefore, a high percentage of high-income group individuals aren’t reaching their daily intake either. What do we do now?
Change our paradigm. Look into the built environments; are there food desserts, how expensive is transportation to get to grocery stores? Are our environments safe… do people want to walk to get fresh fruits regularly? Are they culturally appropriate vegetables around? Do I know how to cook? What they heck is a cheese grater?
Valerie Tarasuk is an author that writes about food insecurity and “the problem”; her theory of food security will be contrasted and compared against Wayne Roberts (the Toronto Food Policy Council President).
I cannot speak for Tarasuk in answering whether or not she thinks food banks are a viable solution to the food insecurity problem, what I do know is that she focuses her discussion on very low income groups. Her focus is these people need to eat. Period. She is less concerned about what they eat, but challenges us to just have everybody fed. Additionally, plainly put, she believes that a better distribution of money would be the means to have this accomplished. Seeing how very low-income families spend the greater portion of money on foods, she has no doubt, and the literature supports her, that these people would be spending money on foods. Furthermore, she is less concerned where that money is being spent: on an apple or burger… not her concern.
Whereas, Wayne Roberts perhaps is more idealistic in that having everybody fed is simply not good enough. According to his perspective, people need to have culturally appropriate and healthy foods.
In reference to my previous blog, “Tricking parents to eat fruits and vegetables” perhaps our paradigm was wrong in relation to the food security problem. Perhaps telling people fruits and vegetables are good for you isn’t good enough…. As far as Malcolm Gladwell discussion went in TVO, seatbelts were right in front of parents and they were told over and over by public safety campaigns the importance of buckling up… didn’t happen, until they scared parents into buckling up for the safety of their children.
What I propose, is that maybe Valerie is onto something here. Maybe people need to develop their own agency… people don’t like to be told what to do… perhaps educating people that fruits are healthy isn’t the problem here…
With that said I’m not sure money distribution is the problem either, seeing how only 33% of high income groups (compare to 18% of low income groups) are reaching their recommended amount of green leafy vegetables (63%, and 57% respectively for total fruits) (USDA, 2009). Therefore, a high percentage of high-income group individuals aren’t reaching their daily intake either. What do we do now?
Change our paradigm. Look into the built environments; are there food desserts, how expensive is transportation to get to grocery stores? Are our environments safe… do people want to walk to get fresh fruits regularly? Are they culturally appropriate vegetables around? Do I know how to cook? What they heck is a cheese grater?
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