Last Friday, July 14th, the CDC Quinte team had the pleasure of taking a field trip to Kingston to visit three outstanding organizations that contribute to food security in Kingston and beyond: Lionhearts Inc., The Loving Spoonful, and Tony Deodato and Sons Limited. All blew us away with their amazing work. I’m going to take the next three weeks to share about each of these great organizations individually. This week, we’ll start with Lionhearts.

The goal of social planning is to strengthen communities and build pathways to well-being for all citizens. Creating community well-being is about learning how to live together in a way that gives everyone the opportunity to develop their full potential.

Like any other type of planning, the process includes identifying goals and making a plan to achieve those goals. As the old adage goes, “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail”. Building strong communities is no different.

Food insecurity is experienced when a household does not have enough money to buy adequate and appropriate food. How this looks can differ from household to household. Some may worry about the rising cost of food, the ability to offer a balanced diet, or the ability to offer a meal at all.

While the result may give the appearance of a food issue, it is in fact, an issue of income.

The term “food insecurity” refers to the insecure access to food due to financial constraints. It is a serious public health issue that negatively impacts physical, mental, and social health, costing our healthcare system considerably.

In 2005, Statistics Canada started monitoring household food insecurity through the Canadian Community Health Survey. Since this survey started, food insecurity rates have only become worse each year.

Here in Belleville, there is a campaign underway: “We All Deserve To Eat”.  It offers a simple message, while aiming to address a very complex set of issues.

Food.  A simple pleasure for some… a life-threatening struggle for others.  It’s one of the most basic necessities of our lives, yet all too often, issues surrounding food go unnoticed, undiscussed.  We all need to eat.  We all deserve to eat.