Perhaps everyone agrees with the opinion that hunger is one of the greatest and most outstanding problems of the contemporary world. The images of a child's bloated belly or of a mother searching through rubble in the hopes of finding food are ones that have long haunted our world and that must be changed immediately. Hunger, malnutrition, and poverty infiltrate on a vast majority of the people on the planet and many individuals are affected by these preventable causes. It is time not to just speak out against world hunger but to do something about it. In Canada, the issue of malnutrition is quickly escalating as more and more individuals are experiencing hunger by having little or no food in their presence.
HungerCount 2013, a comprehensive report on hunger and food bank usage in Canada shows several detailed findings of dilemmas Canadians are currently experiencing. During a time of apparent economic recovery, far too many Canadians are still struggling to put food on the table. The report explains issues that Canadians are experiencing and seeks address the root causes and provide solutions. There are many inter-connected issues causing hunger and poverty. For instance, low income is one of the most prominent causes since Canada has lost hundreds of thousands well paying jobs over the past 30 years. Manufacturing has fled to other parts of the world where products can be made at a significantly lower cost (Pegg, 2013). The jobs that have replaced them are most likely to be low-paying, part-time, and temporary. Furthermore, access to education and training can be extremely frustrating for individuals who have not acquired the skills to attain secure jobs that pay well. Also, employment and social insurance have become more difficult to access for individuals who are unable to work due to any form of physical or mental issue. As well, insufficient incomes make it very difficult for families to afford adequate, nutritious food. Not only that, it is now more difficult to qualify for Employment Insurance, and social assistance benefits continue to be significantly low. Next, countless times food banks have highlighted the evidence that the cost of housing is the key piece of the puzzle in this food insecurity, poverty, and hunger. The supply of low-cost rental housing has diminished, and rents have increased; at the same time, incomes for the majority of Canadians have plummeted. Presently, 1.6 million households pay 30% or more of their income on rent (Pegg, 2013). Unfortunately, far too many individuals and families are discovering that, after they pay their rent and other bills, there is very little money left over for healthy, nutritious food. HungerCount 2013 states that the need for food banks and other food programs in Canada continues to be widespread and, in many regions, continues to escalate and multiply. In March of this year, 833,098 people received food from a food bank in Canada and of those helped, 36% were children. During that same period of time, 4,341,659 meals were prepared and served by soup kitchens, shelters, school breakfast initiatives, and other programs (Pegg, 2013).
Evidently, low income is one of the root causes for more than three decades of food bank usage in Canada. Though the circumstances that send someone into poverty and through the doors of a food bank are diverse, other factors can cause an individual to have to endure poverty and hunger. For example, losing a job, family breakup, sudden health problems, and barriers relating to race, disabilities, or mental illnesses, along with many other reasons all influence the problems Canadians are facing today. Overall, the widespread lack of income and the hard times that one may have to endure are key factors that are causing so many individuals to go hungry and not have shelter.
Particularly in Ontario, 375, 814 individuals were assisted by food banks in March of 2013 which is a 19.6% increase from the year 2008. Also, shockingly 35 % of people who were assisted by food banks or other programs were under the age of 18 (Pegg, 2013). Last year it has been reported that there was a total number of 228 food banks in Ontario and the primary sources of income for individuals living within the province have been from social assistance (42%) and disability-related income support (28.3%).
It is well known that certain groups of people are more susceptible and face a higher risk living in poverty. This includes elderly who are single, single-parent households, individuals receiving social assistance, those with disabilities, and new immigrants. Those who are facing disabilities and receiving social assistance are not able to completely support themselves and often are unable to cope in work environments; thus not receiving income. As well, immigrants who are new to Canada have difficulty getting jobs due to the cultural changes they have to learn how to cope with, for instance, having to learn a completely different language. Also, single-parent households and elderly are not getting enough support from other counterparts, thus have a higher chance of experiencing poverty and hunger. 25% of individuals helped by food banks are single-parent families, 16% of households assisted are living primarily on disability-related income supports, and 11% of people helped are immigrants who have arrived in Canada in the past 10 years. In contrast, the HungerCount 2013 survey results also makes note of the information that hunger, food insecurity, and poverty can virtually happen to anyone. For instance, 22% of households assisted by food banks are two-parent families and 7% helped are homeowners; increasing to 15% in small towns and rural areas. Moreover, it is estimated that 14,059,668 food bank visits have been occurring over the course of a year (Pegg, 2013). Considering these figures over longer periods of time, the need for and use of food banks in Canada is disturbingly large.
On the other hand, it is possible to take a different approach. It is very realistic to make sensible and practical policy changes that will improve the lives of Canadians while creating a better nation, where economic health is stable. To help solve these trends in Canada, the report declares some solutions. First, the provincial government should sought to revise employment standards and legislations to increase support for people working in sectors of the labour force that have lower incomes; including retail, accommodation and food services, and farm work. In March of last year, 1.4 million working age Canadians were unemployed. More than half; over 700,000 people did not have access to Employment Insurance (EI). As a result, this shows that they had no access to non-employment income apart from social assistance, and no access to EI-related skills training. Next, the federal government should ensure that low- income workers, who are less likely to be eligible for Employment Insurance, do not pay a larger percentage of their income in EI premiums than high income workers. Why should workers pay into a program to which they do not have access to? Finally, food bank usage is the consequence of the disconnection between the cost of living and what a household takes in from employment earnings and other benefits. If the government were to commit to adequate, long-term federal funding of affordable housing in Canada people would not be forced to make the decisions between paying rent and buying food.
Implementing change to help those in need is not a difficult task. We can help to alleviate these problems in two ways; understanding, this implies learning and taking action. What appears to be the underlying factors causing hunger and poverty? A key step in helping the individuals in our country who are in need of urgent assistance is to increase your understanding through learning. If you have the internet at your fingertips, then you can easily and quickly learn about the extent and impact of poverty in Canada and around the world. And the figures are pretty disturbing. Becoming more aware of the situations that are occurring in our own community brings us a step closer to making a difference. Next, governments play a key role in allocating resources and adopting policies that influence the lives of those living in brutal conditions. Utilizing self-empowerment to influence the nation's voice including changing government policies or contacting government authorities can effectively bring more change to the issues. Also, joining Canadian anti-hunger public organizations or other organizations that deal with key issues affecting those in poverty is one way to personally get involved. Donating to non-profit organizations is also a way to get involved as it is not always possible to support individual families. Using your voice to spread awareness to others so that more individuals can be informed is also an effective way one can make a difference. This can include addressing the issues over any form of social media on the web. Hunger is a worldwide issue that can’t be solved overnight; however, as individuals and groups, we have the ability to change the amount of people that go to sleep every night waiting and longing for a safe home and adequate food.

Bibliography
Pegg, S., & Stapleton, D. (n.d.). HungerCount 2013. Foodbanks Canada. Retrieved January 8, 2014, from http://www.foodbankscanada.ca/FoodBanks/MediaLibrary/HungerCount/HungerCount2013.pdf