North Grenville Council has declared food insecurity an emergency in the municipality.
Council heard two presentations at their regular meeting on Tuesday night, one from the Kemptville Salvation Army and the other from House of Lazarus Executive Director Cathy Ashby, on the issue of food insecurity in the region.
Both said the need has increased since the COVID-19 pandemic with Ashby saying that usage of the food bank has increased over the last five months this year compared to the same period in 2024 and, while summer is usually quieter, it wasn’t the case this year.
They point to a lack of funding to help address the issue from upper governments and say rising costs across the board are forcing people who used to support the food banks to turn to them for support themselves.
In a motion passed by council in response to the presentations, council says current social assistance rates are woefully inadequate making it impossible to afford a healthy diet and that eastern Ontario Public Health Units estimate that one in four households are food insecure.
The motion calls on the Ontario government to immediately raise social assistance rates to meet life’s basic needs and also requests the Ontario and federal governments act to address the causes of food insecurity by establishing a guaranteed liveable basic income.
Another portion of the motion includes that council develops a working relationship with local food programs to communicate local needs and resources and advocate on behalf of people experiencing food insecurity at the local government level.
