Toronto's growing food insecurity crisis

Six years ago this spring, I was challenged by low-income people in my community to live for one week on a “food bank diet” to better understand the stress experienced by so many on social assistance who have to make the choice between food and rent each month. The affect on me and my family was profound.

But while that publicity stunt helped raise awareness about hunger in our city, little has improved since. In fact, our local food banks are busier than ever.

1 In 7 U.S. Households Struggled To Afford Food Last Year: Report

One in seven U.S. households struggled to afford food last year, according to a new report. Yet, many families in need didn’t take advantage of safety net programs that could help alleviate the issue.

The number of food insecure households has remained “essentially unchanged” since 2012, holding steady at 17.4 million households, a USDA report found. But advocates are concerned about the fact that safety net programs are being underutilized.

Rate Of U.S. 'Food Insecurity' Stubbornly High

WASHINGTON -- Fourteen percent of U.S. households lacked access to enough good food at some point last year, according to the latest annual food insecurity estimate from the federal government.

The change from last year's 14.3 percent is too small to count as statistically significant, but the decline from 14.9 percent in 2011 is good news, say researchers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Still, despite an improving economy, the rate is much higher than the 11.1 percent seen in 2007, before the onset of the Great Recession.

New study points to a new normal: Job insecurity.

A new study released today confirms the broad ranging consequences of precarious labour in urban areas of southern Ontario.

In 2013, PEPSO, a research partnership between United Way Toronto and McMaster University conducted a major study on precarious labour in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton areas. Using data collected from a survey of over 4,000 workers and 28 in-depth interviews, The Precarity Penalty, released today, builds on those findings.

"The first study generated some questions that we wanted to look at in more detail," said Wayne Lewchuk, co-author of the report and Professor at McMaster University's School of Labour Studies and Department of Economics. He explained that revisiting the study three years later has allowed PEPSO researchers to take note of some changing trends within the labour force, and to address some of the issues that came up in their earlier study more thoroughly, such as discrimination, access to child care, and job training.

Millions Of Britons Could Not Afford Their Housing Costs If They Lost Their Job

Eight million people are estimated to be just one month's salary away from struggling to pay for their home, a charity has warned.

Some 35% of workers, equating to around 8.6 million Britons, do not have enough savings put by to cover their rent or mortgage for more than a month if they lost their job, Shelter found.

For savers in Canada, a sinking feeling

Colleen Wallace is frugal, and proud of it.

The 70-year-old resident of Chelsea, Que., a rustic enclave north of Ottawa, managed to make ends meet while raising a daughter on her own, and despite being laid off from her federal government job 17 years ago. She doesn't have a computer, and she uses a rotary dial phone with a party line – a relic of a bygone era in telecom. She collects a pension, has a modest investment portfolio and her house is paid off.

“I’m not hurting but there’s no room for any exotic spending,” Ms. Wallace says. “I’m very good with my income. I’ve never gone into debt and never spent more than I can afford.”

But like millions of Canadians who are either approaching the end of their working lives or living on fixed incomes in retirement, Ms. Wallace faces an array of economic forces that appear to be stacked against her, and she is worried about her financial well-being.

It’s the saver’s dilemma. Life for these Canadians has become an uncomfortable squeeze between weak returns on their investments, stagnant incomes and the steadily rising cost of everything from food to fuel to housing.