But what if the simple ingredients for smores – marshmallows, chocolate and graham crackers – are way out of your budget? What happens when summer actually means more nights going to bed hungry or fretting all night worrying about how you’re going to feed your children?

Over 300,000 children in Canada struggle with food insecurity and many of those children rely on in-school programs to help fill their tummies. And their parents rely on these programs to offset their food budgets so that there is more money to go to things like rent or car expenses. And just like schools go on vacation, so too do these programs, leaving the recipients of the food struggling to keep full.

To help combat this issue, Food Banks Canada has come up with After the Bell, a program that helps families stay fed during the summer months. The aim of this program is to deliver healthy food packs to communities in need so that families that rely on school food programs won’t have to go hungry.

In order to get a better view of this program and the growing problem of hunger in Canada, I spoke with Caroline Newton the Chief Communications Officer at Food Banks Canada. Newton has been an advocate for social change for numerous years and for the past year she has been working with Food Banks Canada on getting the message out that more needs to be done.

As we have all been experiencing lately, prices have been skyrocketing, in particular in the grocery store. This has had a major impact on food banks across Canada and Newton admitted that this has been the “most challenging time in [the Food Banks of Canada] 40-year history.”

Newton talked about three main issues that food banks have been facing which have directly affected their ability to help people. The biggest issue is that food banks across the country are having a difficult time keeping up with demand. There are a lot more people who need help getting food and some food banks are finding it hard to keep their shelves stocked.

This issue is only compacted by the fact that food is more expensive. Not only do food prices affect how many people are in need of help, but it also affects how much food the food banks can buy, meaning your donation dollars are not able to go as far as they used to. And that brings us to the third issue I discussed with Newton- not as many people are able to donate as everyone is trying to decrease their spending.

This means that programs such as After the Bell are needed now more than ever. By providing healthy food packs for kids who usually rely on school or community food programs, we can help the entire family get through the summer without going hungry. As Newton explained, though these packs are for children, by providing this help, you are allowing parents to stick to their usual food budgets, meaning they don’t have to sacrifice their own meals in order to feed their children. In the words of Newton, “no parent should have to choose between feeding themselves or feeding their children” and with After the Bell, hopefully, fewer parents will have to do this.

So, how can we help? The biggest thing according to Newton is to pay attention. According to a study done by Food Banks Canada, 61% of people that have housing issues say that this directly affects their food security. As rents increase, families have less money for other essentials like food. Newton advocates for fixed incomes and affordable housing and hopes that people are paying attention to how these issues directly affect the hungry.

And of course, if you want to help directly, you can always donate money, food or time. There is always a need for all three and your donation will go a long way to helping those in need.

If you would like to know more about the After the Bell program or donate to Food Banks of Canada, please see their website.

The post Food Banks Canada After the Bell Program appeared first on Toronto Guardian.

The After the Bell program was originally created in order to support students whose families rely on public school food programs, and thus suffer to access adequate nutrition when school is not in session through the Summer months. After the Bell works with nearly 200 community food banks and community organizations all across Canada, with representation in all 13 provinces and territories. Food banks and community organizations who apply to be a vessel for this program all have distribution partners through their communities. “They [Food banks and community organizations] could for instance be working with their municipalities on a summer food program, or they could be working with their local girls and boy scouts”, explained Tania Little, Chief Development and Partnerships Officer.

Food banks and community organizations that are accepted receive packs of food relative to the number of children that they are able to support each year in order to distribute them weekly. In addition to the packs of non-perishable, child-friendly food, they are also supplied with shelf-stable milk, and a fresh food stipend, allowing them to purchase fruits and vegetables within their region. This ensures that they are able to provide nutritionally complete snack packs to children, going above and beyond what they would typically receive in a supplemental program. “These foods are really geared towards meeting the needs of growing minds and bodies, as well as making these packs robust, flavourful, and appealing to kids with lots of variety”, Tania said.

More now than ever, this program, and its reliability, is needed among families as the COVID pandemic has stifled food banks and supplemental programs throughout the past year. In addition, more children are dealing with income instability at the moment, which happens to be the prevailing cause of food insecurity. “50% of food banks have seen a significant, between 50% and 200% increase, of new clients coming to their doors. So proportionally, with 35% of those people being kids, that’s a lot of support being needed year after year”, Tania explained.

With wavering restrictions, school supplemental programs and food security organizations have been unable to operate at full capacity this past year. There was great instability regarding attendance in schools, restrictions around volunteers and food handling safety, resulting in
inconsistency even when schools were open. “I think in the scheme of what you prioritize, I think that when kids were in class they [teachers] were focused on teaching and managing remote and in-class learning. It [supplemental food programs] wasn’t being offered in the traditional setting where kids and families could rely on it during the school year”, Tania explained.

If you have resources available, there are several ways in which you can help to make a difference in your community. You can first visit the Food Banks Canada website’s Find a Food Bank feature in order to locate your local neighborhood food bank as well as gain insight on their specific needs and how you can volunteer your time. You can then support their local food bank by donating non-perishable goods from the grocery store such as canned beans, rice, and oil, or by making a financial donation to your local food bank, which gives the maximum amount of flexibility for your local food bank. Local food banks have the ability to buy food at cost or better, make culturally and geographically relevant food choices, and purchase perishables such as eggs, meat, dairy, fruits and vegetables, ensuring that they are fresh when provided to children and families.

To learn more about After the Bell, visit Food Banks Canada’s website.

The post Food Banks Canada’s After the Bell Program appeared first on Toronto Guardian.

The organizations have assembled notable chefs and culinary influencers across the country, including Chef Lynn Crawford, Chef Craig Flinn and Chef Trevor Bird who have all created holiday recipes for the occasion, which we’d love to share with you to spread the news! Emerging chefs all over Canada,including local Toronto chefs such as Emma Beqaj and Ariel Waks are also part of the movement – all to inspire giving back this holiday season.

More than 860,000 Canadians turn to food banks each month, with children and youth accounting for one-third of the total number, and we can make a difference by raising awareness and supporting this initiative.

Chef Trevor’s Scotch Eggs

Scotch Eggs are such a wonderfully satisfying meal, and are a big hit at gatherings. Chickpeas, mushrooms and panko breadcrumbs are combined to create a new twist on this culinary classic. They’ll kick any holiday spread up a notch.

Serves: 6
Prep Time: 30 mins
Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients

Scotch Eggs

8 large eggs
⅓ lb (150 g) button or cremini mushrooms
1 ½ cups (375 ml) canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 ¼ cups (315 ml) panko breadcrumbs
1 tbsp (15 ml) curry powder
1 tsp (5 ml) salt
For deep frying neutral oil (canola, peanut, etc..)

Curry Mayo

½ cup (125 ml) mayonnaise
½ tbsp (8 ml) white wine vinegar
½ tbsp (8 ml) lime juice
½ tsp (3 ml) curry powder
¼ tsp (2 ml) salt

Pickled Onion Salad

¼ cup (50 ml) rice wine vinegar
¼ cup (50 ml) sugar
1 tsp (5 ml) salt
1 large red onion, sliced thinly
3 cups (750 ml) loosely packed pea shoots or salad greens
1 cup (250 ml) coriander leaves

Instructions

Scotch Eggs:

Step 1 – Boil 6 of the eggs in their shells for 5 ½ minutes. Place in cold running water until cold then gently peel. Set aside.

Step 2 – In a food processor pulse the mushrooms until roughly chopped. Add the chickpeas and pulse until finely chopped. Add the breadcrumbs, curry powder, salt, and remaining 2 eggs. Process until well combined.

Step 3 – Divide the chickpea mixture into 6 equal portions. Wet your hands lightly then press out a portion of the mixture in your palm until about ½” thick. Place an egg in the middle and wrap with the mixture. Roll gently in your hands, pinching to seal any cracks. If the mix becomes sticky lightly moisten your hands again. Repeat with remaining mix and eggs. Set aside while you prepare the mayo and salad.

Step 4 – In a deep saucepan or dutch oven heat oil to 350°F (180°C) and deep fry the eggs for 5 minutes until golden. Serve each egg on a bed of the Pickled Onion Salad with a good dollop of Curry Mayo.

Curry Mayo:

Step 1- In a small bowl mix all ingredients. Refrigerate covered up to 2 days.

Pickled Onion Salad:

Step 1- In a small saucepan bring the vinegar, sugar and salt to a simmer. Place the onions in a glass or non-reactive bowl and pour the hot vinegar over them. Mix well and cover, allowing to cool 2 hrs or ideally overnight.

Step 2 – When ready to serve combine the onions and any juices with the peas shoots and coriander. Toss and use immediately.

Tips:

Prepare the eggs and mayo up to 4 hrs ahead of time and keep covered in the fridge then deep fry when ready to serve. You can make the pickled onions up to 1 month in advance and keep in the fridge, the recipe is easily doubled and they’re delicious with cold meats or in sandwiches.

The post Chef Trevor’s Scotch Eggs with Food Banks & Egg Farmers of Canada appeared first on Toronto Guardian.

A shocking number of Canadians live with hunger daily. We live in a country that pledged to eliminate child poverty by the year 2000, and yet 17 years past that deadline, Canada ranks 37th (out of 41) in terms of children having access to nutritious food.

That’s part of the message of Hunger Awareness Week, happening right now (September 18th to 22nd) across the nation. But the other part of the message is that solutions are possible. To discuss this, we chatted with Marzena Gersho, Director of Communications for Food Banks Canada. Read on to learn more about this ongoing crisis and how you can help solve it!

Tell me a little bit about Food Banks Canada’s mission.

Food Banks Canada is a national association and charity that represents the foodbanking community across the country. Over 560 food bank organizations are in the network. Much of the work is looking at how we can address hunger today by accessing food and funds for food banks, raising awareness of hunger, and how to reduce it in the long term via policy and advocacy to find solutions.

It’s 2017 and Canada is one of the wealthiest nations ever to have existed. Is hunger still a major problem even today?

It is, and that’s what is shocking to people. 860,000 people each month are helped by a food bank – the size of New Brunswick. This is predominantly due to income levels. People just can’t earn enough to be able to cover basic needs. Disability benefits, pensions for seniors, they are simply inadequate support to ensure they can pay for rent, food, and so on. But it goes beyond the unwaged; 1 in 6 of those helped by food banks are employed or recently employed, meaning they just aren’t earning enough in their jobs to secure sufficient food. Social security levels are willfully low, and can be quite punitive.

What kinds of solutions would you like to see implemented to well and truly solve hunger as an issue in Canada?

Having a national poverty strategy; there are a number of provinces working on poverty reduction, but fundamentally, you’re living in poverty when many can’t afford their own food. Training workers so that they can find work as an evolving work force, because manufacturing jobs and natural resource sectors are in decline – those were well paying jobs that came with benefits. Also, how do we look at changing those social security safety nets and ensuring it really is a safety net that catches people who have fallen.

Basic income has become a major discussion point across the country recently, and it appears to offer real hope of eliminating hunger and poverty. How do you feel about basic income?

Basic income is one of our recommendations that we’ve put forward to give everyone a minimum amount to ensure that they can afford their day to day needs. [Ed. note: in addition to Hunger Awareness Week, it is also Basic Income Week at the moment]

I understand Hunger Awareness week is coming up on September 18th. What’s the aim of Hunger Awareness Week and what kinds of things can we expect during that time?

It was initiated in 2006, primarily because we needed to raise awareness of the issue of hunger and the role of food banks in supporting people. People tend to think about giving for those that are struggling more during the holiday periods (Christmas and Easter primarily), but the reality is that hunger is 12 months a year. Coming out of the summer period, people are still in that summer glow, so it’s an opportunity for the food bank network to rally around this week to be able to let fellow Canadians know that 860,000 people are struggling, and to really kick off that holiday giving as we move into Thanksgiving. It’s a way to pull people together and have a rallying cry about addressing this crisis, and ask Canadians to think about giving if they’re in position to do so.

How are food banks run?

They’re all independent. Many are born out of the need in their communities. The first food bank was started in 1981 during a recession. It came out of the US as a way to access surplus food, and from there the movement (and need) has grown. Now there are over 4,000 such agencies across the country, whether it’s a food bank, a senior’s program, a kitchen program, or food support to share food with people in need. Every one is run independently – sometimes they receive a small grant, but are typically not government funded. They’re like any other charity in their community, relying on the goodwill of local businesses and supporters.

How can our readers get involved?

A number of ways. First, if they’re on social media, to share the message. The campaign is “think canadians don’t go hungry? Think again”. It’s a sizeable issue. Tell their friends and family and encourage them to donate to their local food bank. Use the hashtag #hungerweek, and go to HungerAwarenessWeek.ca to make a donation and find local food banks to donate to (with food, funds, or time).

Anything else you’d like to share with us before we go?

A couple of interesting research points – 8 out of 10 Canadians know they have a role to play in helping those dealing with hunger, but they don’t all take action, so this is a great opportunity to inspire Canadians to do that. And shockingly, 1 in 2 Canadians know someone who has visited a food bank, so it’s really close to home – much closer to home than many would realize.

The post Food for Thought: An Interview Marzena Gersho of Food Banks Canada appeared first on Toronto Guardian.

Food Banks Canada numbers have shown that over half of Canadians polled know someone who has visited a food bank. Over half of respondents mistakenly believe that food bank usage has decreased since the 2008 recession, when, in fact, it has remained at a high level – in 2016 it was 26% higher. Almost half of respondents mistakenly think that employed people don’t need to use food banks when in fact close to 20% of those assisted by a food bank are employed or were recently employed. Almost half of Canadians polled don’t understand that children are a large group of people assisted by food banks. 1 in 3 of those helped by a food bank are children.

Facts like these can greatly sway public opinion on the matter and increase funds and resources directed to fixing this problem.

This September, 850k Canadians are expected to use food banks. Help us make a difference by donating to your local food banks.

Hunger Awareness Week

Food banks across the country will be holding events to tell the story of the work they do as well as the stories of hungry Canadians that get assistance from food banks.

Food Banks Canada, along with its provincial members and food banks across the country, are asking all Canadians to mark Hunger Awareness Week in their calendar and help make a positive impact on the issues surrounding hunger across the country.

For more information, please visit the Hunger awareness Week website – www.hungerawarenessweek.ca

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