Food Security & Feed Nova Scotia

Having enough nutritious food to eat is an essential human need and a basic human right, which is why food security is one of the key social determinants of health. There are hundreds of different definitions of food security, but one used quite often states that “food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.” [1] No matter how it is defined, food insecurity is— like many of the other social determinants of health— directly related to low income and poverty.

As someone who moved to Nova Scotia from the UK just over a year ago, I did not expect that Nova Scotia would have such serious food insecurity issues. When I learned about the size of the province in relation to its population and the areas of fertile farmland, I imagined there would be abundant sources of nutritious, affordable and locally produced food. Through research and experience I found out my perceptions were completely wrong. A lot of the fresh fruit and vegetables in supermarkets come from far-away places and, unless they are in season, are noticeably more expensive than unhealthy processed alternatives. As a family, we find it hard to eat nutritiously on a budget. If our incomes dropped, I can see how easy it would be to start choosing the cheaper, less nutritious options.

Research from Mount Saint Vincent University found that 10% of households in Nova Scotia in 2010 were uncertain about or unable to afford a basic nutritious diet, putting them at risk for poor physical, mental and emotional health[2].  Food insecurity is not a new issue in Canada. The first food bank in Canada opened in 1981 in Edmonton, supposedly as a temporary measure. Since then, the need has only increased and led to the development of organizations like FEED NOVA SCOTIA.

FEED NOVA SCOTIA is a charitable organization that collects donated food and distributes it to more than 150 member agencies, including food banks and meal programs. They distribute more than 2 million kilograms to food insecure individuals across Nova Scotia each year. For a province with less than a million inhabitants, that seems like a lot, and worryingly, some estimate that only about 25% of food insecure families actually use food banks. From what I had read, they seemed like a pretty amazing organization. I wanted to learn more about them and the work they do, so I arranged to spend a day on a food truck collecting and distributing food to organizations in the Halifax area.

Hitting the Road

The shift for the food trucks started at 7:30, which meant an earlier start than I was used to. There was a lot of joking around though, which at that time in the morning was a good sign that everyone enjoyed their work. I was partnered up with Kevin, a country music loving business student who doesn’t yet know what he wants to do in the future: sounds rather familiar (The not knowing what to do bit, rather than the country music loving). Kevin was on a grant-funded, 3 month summer placement and had driven big trucks before, which showed with some fancy parallel parking during the day. I am glad he was driving. Kevin told me that you always hang around to help unload whoever was in the last truck back and so sometimes they would finish past 5. He didn’t get overtime for the extra hours he worked. In fact, the summer student grant the organization received didn’t even cover him for the full shift, but he said he was happy to ‘volunteer’ for the extra few hours every day. FEED NOVA SCOTIA is a special place that attracts special people.   

Kevin and I were on the ‘food recovery’ route for Halifax. This meant collecting and distributing surplus prepared foods and other perishable foods that require quick consumption to shelters, drop-in centres and other meal programs.

Our first stop was Tim Hortons (how appropriately Canadian) to pick-up some bakery products. We then picked up a lot of items from Costco, including bread and other baked goods, flowers, and other household products. We met John at Costco, who was also on a `food recovery` route, but on the Dartmouth side. Next we did some drop-offs at a number of agencies around the Halifax Peninsula and stopped for more pick-ups from places like Planet Organic and Phil’s Fish Shop. We even collected some surplus ready meals and food from the seniors’ home, Northwood Manor. The day made me realize how few loading zones there are out there. The work was definitely more physically demanding than my usual work at HPC. 

By about 4pm, we had made our last scheduled drop-off and headed back to the office, but the day was not over. We still had to empty and clean out the truck to make it ready to start all over again in the morning. Everyone pitched in and chatted about their day. This again highlighted for me the sense of a real team of people, enjoying doing something they believe in.    

A Few Personal Reflections

My day was filled with mixed emotions… anticipation, frustration, gratitude and disappointment, to name a few. It was strange that our entire day depended on what people were willing to donate. It was a bit like fishing —you had no idea what you were going to get from each place. Sometimes you would get a great haul and, at other times, hardly anything. What we collected entirely determined what we could give out. It felt really good to see the excitement when we had things that organizations wanted and needed in order to serve the people that relied on them for support. On the other hand, it was tough when we didn’t. On that day, we ended up with a lot of baked goods, but it was disappointing how little fresh fruit and vegetables we received.

There were two things that I found frustrating during the day. The first was that I saw food go to waste. At the end of the day, we had leftover baked goods (rolls, breads, cakes, muffins) which had to be composted. The second disappointment was the low quantity of fresh fruit and vegetables donated and that some of the donated fruit was already spoiled and unsuitable for distribution. Most of the locations where we delivered wanted fresh produce to prepare healthy and nutritious meals for their clients. In order to meet this need, FEED NOVA SCOTIA must either receive more financial or fresh food donations. FEED NOVA SCOTIA is very grateful for all the donations they get.  It would be great if all would commit to contributing a certain amount of healthy fresh food every day.

Final Thoughts

My day with Kevin and FEED NOVA SCOTIA was a great experience. I learned a lot about a wonderful group of people doing very important work. I also found out about some of the businesses and organizations doing what they can to help reduce food insecurity. The work they do through the food recovery trips reduces food waste by getting donated goods that would have gone to waste to those who need it. While this is an important part of any food security plan, I fear that, no matter how hard they try, they will not be able to reduce food insecurity on their own. Research and literature state that food banks and meal programs are not a long-term solution, and that they are the result of poor public policy. Experts agree that the root cause of food insecurity is poverty. In other words, reducing poverty equals reducing food insecurity. Just giving away food is never going to solve hunger or poverty; finding long-term solutions to reduce poverty and low incomes is the only way. Models like the Stop in Toronto (which I believe will also be opening in Dartmouth) where a community food focus comes first and the food bank is just one of the many programs they offer as well as cooking and healthy eating classes, seem to be a better way of approaching the problem. It is good to see that FEED Nova Scotia realizes this too and have introduced programs like the learning kitchen that go beyond food distribution and focus not only on teaching essential cooking skills, but also help individuals overcome some of the barriers to employment.

 There is no easy solution, but programs like that do help. Getting people to eat and cook healthy food using fresh ingredients is also an essential part of any solution. This is why it is also important that FEED Nova Scotia gets more fresh fruit and vegetables donated. Until long-term solutions and goals are realized, I am glad that food distribution programs exist.

About me

My name is Andrew and I am trying to find out more about health promotion in Nova Scotia. My wife and I moved here from Wales in 2012 and we have since had a beautiful Canadian daughter. I currently work at the Health Promotion Clearinghouse, a non-profit that supports health promoters in Nova Scotia.  My background is in non-profit development, but I am quite new to health promotion, the social determinants of health and Nova Scotia. Spending time with some organizations seemed like a great way to learn more about all three of them. My plan is to spend a day with a range of organizations on the front line of health promotion in Nova Scotia and reflect on the work they do and why it is so important.