Rising Prices and Empty Baskets: Food Insecurity Seminar

The Undergraduate Public Policy program presented a seminar event on Toronto's pressing food insecurity titled, Rising Prices and Empty Baskets.

 

What will it take for the city and provincial governments to prioritize tackling Ontario's food insecurity problem? With food costs rising monthly, food banks have been reaching peak client numbers since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. This panel discussion discussed the relationship between food justice and poverty, and what you can do as a Torontonian to support your community.

 

The panel included:

 

Dr. Michael Widener, Canada Research Chair (Tier 2) in Transportation and Health at the University of Toronto. He also serves as the Director of Health Studies at University College, and as an Associate Professor in Geography and Planning, with cross-appointment in Epidemiology at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health. Outside of U of T, Dr. Widener serves on various journals' editorial boards, is a member of CIHR's College of Reviewers, and co-leads the Social and Health Factors Cluster of the Network of European Communication & Transportation Activity Researchers, and co-chairs the Prioritizing Populations theme of the Mobilizing Justice Partnership. Dr. Widener is a health geographer who's research focuses on how public health affects, and is affected by, movement of transportation systems.

 

Tim Li, Research Coordinator of PROOF, a research program studying effective policy interventions for household food insecurity in Canada at the University of Toronto. PROOF's work shines a spotlight on the size and seriousness of food insecurity in Canada, the inability for charitable assistance to resolve it, and how it can be remedied through public policies supporting adequate incomes. Over the past decade, PROOF has helped establish food insecurity as a serious public health problem, a marker of pervasive material deprivation, and a matter of public policy.

 

Talia Bronstein, Social Policy Researcher and VP Research & Advocacy at Daily Bread. Talia is an outspoken advocate for income security and affordable housing to alleviate poverty and food insecurity. Having worked in the public, private, and non-for-profit sectors, Talia brings a unique perspective to building collaborative relationships with community members, partner organizations, and government to tackle complex systems-level policy issues. Talia also holds a Master of Public Health from the University of Toronto and her research has been featured in the Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, National Post, and CBC.