Position statement and recommendations on responses to food insecurity
French version to be available soon
This document was created and published by the Ontario Dietitians in Public Health (ODPH), an independent, non-profit body that represents over 200 registered dietitians working in public health in Ontario. The ODPH’s food security working group reviewed and compiled research to support implementation of income-based policy approaches to reduce poverty as the most effective way to address food insecurity.
Focus areas
Areas discussed include the impact of food insecurity on health and healthcare, population groups disproportionately affected and the lack of effectiveness of food charity and food literacy programs.
Several policy areas are also explored including increasing social assistance rates, basic income, employment livable wages and benefits, and affordable housing.
Recommendations
Recommendations for action by public health practitioners include advocacy for policy change and addressing poverty as the root cause of food insecurity. Recommendations for policy action by federal, provincial, municipal, and First Nations governments as well as boards of health are made. These policy recommendations support addressing food insecurity as an urgent human rights and social justice issue, and can be used to support action by public health practitioners on income-based policy solutions.
A food insecurity infographic for use in advocacy and educational work is available that represents the information in both the position statement and the policy recommendations.
Use this resource to
- facilitate discussion about how to shift public health practice away from charity and food focused solutions to food insecurity and towards supporting income-based policy action;
- advocate for basic income guarantee and changes to legislation that will support addressing poverty as the underlying determinant of food insecurity;
- illustrate how food insecurity as a social determinant of health contributes to broader health inequities; and
- support communications with stakeholders both internal and external to public health to encourage action on poverty.
Reference
Ontario Dietitians in Public Health (2020). Position statement and recommendations on responses to food insecurity. https://www.osnpph.on.ca/upload/membership/document/2021-04/ps-eng-corrected-07april21_1.pdf
Tags: Food systems, Healthy public policy, Modify and orient interventions, Participate in policy development, Report / Document