Food is one of the three core needs we all face… home, food and responsibility for those we care for, children, elders and family. COVID and post COVID pandemic economic pressures are complicating hunger & food sustainability. The impact on children is sure to undermine generational health and growth. The impact on those disadvantage or living it a poverty trap, now facing more extreme restrictions to community support place them deeper in their survival loop. Raising food prices are draining bank accounts. Policymakers and employers have failed to move the needle for households scrambling month to month. Living costs, like housing, have skyrocketed, adding pressure wit the increasing food costs. These need and deserve attention in finding solutions to turn this corner in a favorable direction.
On a very practical level one of the implications of COVID is the unaceptablity of using buffets to deliver food. That added to the civic regulations being imposed to assure food being safe adda a layer of work beyond what our volunteers have already had to do. Everyone wants the food being provided to be secure. It’s a trade off between the quantity of food being provided and the drawback of germs. As CNN reported last year, scientists in Japan recently used ultraviolet light to demonstrate how easily viruses can spread from tongs to pitchers, chafing-dish lids, cups, and cutlery. New hurdles for TGUC to cross in the work of feeding community members. Perhaps prebagged lunches, labeled breakfast Bento boxs… we are working on it. All part of helping others to worry less about where their next meal comes from, with dignity.
Locally, City of Vancouver established a Food Strategy in early 2013, that it updated in 2017. With implications through 2020 we are now looking forward to its impact and results for guidence going forward.
For now, TGUC continues to advocate and perform in ways that help our neighbours have the easiest access to fresh healthy food and dispose of waste food products that support sustainablity. We do these by supporting:
• corner stores as a source of healthy food
• community and collective gardens
• farm markets and direct growing
• community composting
• community food banks
