Household Food Insecurity in Canada, 2012 /

The geographic patterning of food insecurity such as the alarming rates in the North and the Maritimes, and the sheer volume of affected households in our largest provinces, as well as the variation in rates that is found among cities, suggest that reducing the prevalence of food insecurity requires attention and action by all levels of government. [...] This definition was adopted by Canada at the World Food Summit, but the measurement and monitoring of food insecurity in the country focuses on a household`s experience of food insecurity or the inadequate or insecure access to adequate food due to financial constraints. [...] In this report, we present estimates of the number of adults and children living in food insecure households in Canada and the rate of household food insecurity among children, based on population-weighted totals from CCHS 2012. [...] A comparison of food insecurity rates in Canada and the United States in 2012, applying United States Department of Agriculture’s coding of the questionnaire, is presented in Appendix C. The food security survey module is not always part of the common content of CCHS, and during cycles of CCHS where it has been optional, some provinces and territories have opted out of participation. [...] To understand the problem of food insecurity in Canada, it is also instructive to examine the distribution of food insecure households across the country, as this tells us where the greatest numbers of food insecure households are located.