GUELPH POLITICAST #294 - Fighting Food Insecurity

Continuing our countdown to Giving Tuesday on November 30 we're putting a spotlight on the North End Harvest Market, which fits nicely under the broad topic of food insecurity. There are many reasons why someone might be food insecure, but it’s fallen to many different small neighbourhood groups in our city to take direct action on it, especially during the pandemic.

According to Guelph Wellbeing, a project meant to find ways to enhance the wellbeing of Guelph residents, 16.4 per cent of Guelph households are food insecure. That’s in line with the Canada-wide statistics that say 15 per cent, or 1-in-7, Canadian households are food insecure. That's on top of the growing increase in food bank use since 2005 so the need for help is overwhelming, which is why many neighbourhood groups now have their own food insecurity remedies.

But food insecurity doesn’t just mean the cost of food, it means the ease of access to food, and how far you have to travel to get fresh meat and produce. In other words, fighting food deserts, and the north east end of Guelph is one of them. The North End Harvest Market has been directly addressing access to fresh food since 2014, and they've been doing great work with small donations, personal gifts and community grants. So what's the secret to their success?

Barb McPhee, the person behind the North End Harvest Market, will tell you all about it on this week's podcast. She will discuss the market's beginnings, how it works, and how many people are helped on a weekly basis with their fresh food. She will also talk about the issues around food deserts, and how the need goes far beyond the Grant Hill area. And finally, McPhee will discuss how the pandemic has changed the way that the market has had to deliver their services, and how you can help out if you would like.

So let's talk about fighting food insecurity on this week’s Guelph Politicast!

You can learn more about the North End Harvest Market at its page at the Grange Hill East Neighbourhood Group website, which you can find here. You can also find the market on social media here. Come back next week to hear from another great Guelph non-profit or charity.

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Photo courtesy of the North End Harvest Market's Facebook page.