Household Food Insecurity In Canada 2017-2018 - PROOF

Based on the number of positive responses tothe questions posed, households are classifiedas either food secure or marginally, moderately,or severely food insecure. (See Appendix B fora full description of the classification scheme.)Food-secure households are those who gave noindication of any income-related problem of foodaccess. Those who are marginally food insecurehave reported some concern or problem of foodaccess over the past 12 months. Householdsclassified as moderately food insecure havereported compromises in the quality and/orquantity of food consumed among adults and/ orchildren. Those classed as severely food insecurehave reported more extensive compromises,including reducedfood intake amongThe results in thisadults and/or childrenreport are basedbecause of a lack ofon populationmoney for food.included marginally food-insecure households inour estimates of the prevalence of household foodinsecurity in Canada, whereas the results providedby Statistics Canada only count householdsthat are moderately or severely food insecure.Secondly, we have calculated the total numberof people affected by food insecurity by countingall members of households classified as foodinsecure. The prevalence estimates presented hereprovide a comprehensive account of the problemof household food insecurity in Canada.WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A MARGINALLYFOOD-INSECURE HOUSEHOLD?34.6% reported being worried that their foodwould run out before they got money to buy more.41.6% reported that they could not afford to eatbalanced meals.weighted data fromapproximately103,500householdsincluded in the2017-18 CanadianCommunity HealthSurvey.14.6% reported that the food they bought for thehousehold did not last and there was no money tobuy more.In this report, wepresent estimates ofthe number of adultsand children livingin food-insecurehouseholds and therate of householdfood insecurity amongchildren, based on population-weighted data fromabout 103,500 households surveyed in CCHS2017-18. In contrast to the annual reports PROOFissued for 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014, we arepresenting the results for 2017 and 2018 togetherin this status report. Pooling the two years isconsistent with Statistics Canada’s approach tosampling in the cycle, and it allows us to reportmore stable estimates of key indicators forsmaller jurisdictions.12.5% reported that they relied on a few low-costfoods to feed their children.2.4% reported that they could not afford to feedtheir children balanced meals.In 2015, Statistics Canada implemented a majorredesign of the CCHS. This included changesto the method of sampling households for thesurvey6 . The changes were implemented toimprove the population representativeness ofthe data from CCHS. However, because of thechanges, Statistics Canada cautions users againstcomparing more recent survey results with thoseprior to 2015. Consequently, we only present acomparison of prevalence estimates from CCHS2017-18 and 2015-16. This comparison is limitedto provinces and territories that measured foodinsecurity in 2015-16. The food security moduleOur estimates differ from those released byStatistics Canada and included in Canada'sOfficial Poverty Dashboard. Firstly, we have6The method of sampling employed for CCHS since 2015 is described here.7

was optional content during that cycle of CCHS,and the governments of Ontario, Newfoundlandand Labrador, and Yukon chose to not measurefood insecurity among their populations.In comparing prevalence estimates over timewithin the provinces and territories for which foodinsecurity measurements are available for both2015-16 and 2017-18, it is important to consider the95% confidence intervals around these estimates.The confidence intervals are an indication ofthe degree of uncertainty associated with eachprevalence estimate. Only where confidenceintervals do not overlap can the differences inprevalence estimates between the two surveycycles be considered statistically significant.CANADIANHOUSEHOLDS12.7% of households,one in eight , are food-insecure3.0% 5.7 % 4.0%Prevalenceof Food InsecurityHouseholdsin Canada areseverelyfood insecureIn 2017-18, 12.7% of households in the countryexperienced some level of food insecurity duringthe previous 12 months. This represents 1.8 millionhouseholds, or 4.4 million individuals, includingover 1.2 million children under the age of 18. Thismeans that 17.3% of children under 18, or morethan 1 in 6, lived in households that experiencedfood insecurity in 2017-18.4.41.8millionHouseholdsin Canada aremoderatelyfood insecureHouseholdsin Canada aremarginally foodinsecureData Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Community Health Survey(CCHS), 2017-18.The levels ofdeprivationdocumentedwere substantial,with 5.7% ofhouseholds(i.e. 819,900households)classified as moderately food insecure, indicatingcompromises in the quality and possibly thequantity of food consumed over the past 12months, and 3.0% (i.e. 429,900 households)severely food insecure. Almost 1 in 4 foodinsecure households in Canada were severely foodinsecure. This is concerning because severe foodinsecurity denotes an extreme level of deprivationthat is strongly associated with multiple negativehealth outcomes, including mortality.429,900 householdswere severely foodinsecure, experiencingserious levels of fooddeprivation because ofa lack of money for food.millionINDIVIDUALSINCLUDING1.2 MILLION CHILDREN in Canadaare living in food-insecure households.Data Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Community HealthSurvey (CCHS), 2017-18.8

Household Food Insecurity In Canada By PROVINCE & TERRITORYKEYSevere Food InsecurityNL3.3%PENSNBQCONMBSKABBCYTNTNU2.9% 7.0%6.8%4.6%Moderate Food InsecurityMarginal Food Insecurity4.7 %4.0%6.4%2.9% 6.0%4.4%4.1%2.3% 5.1%3.7%3.2%5.8%3.1%7.0%4.3%4.2%2.8% 6.5%4.6%3.2%6.1%3.7 %3.2%5.5%5.1%7.4%5.0%11.0%3.7 %4.3%5.7 %23.7 %Data Source: Statistics Canada, CanadianCommunity Health Survey (CCHS), 2017-18.25.8%7.6%20%40%Food Insecurity byProvince or TerritoryFood insecurity in Nunavut was extraordinarilyhigh, with a prevalence of 57.0% in 2017-18. Thisis the highest rate of food insecurity charted inNunavut since monitoring began. The secondhighest prevalence (21.6%) of food insecurity inthe country in 2017-18 was found in the NorthwestTerritories, and the third highest prevalence(16.9%) was found in Yukon. The lowest prevalenceof household food insecurity in 2017-18 was inQuebec, at 11.1%.As with food insecurity overall, the prevalence ofsevere food insecurity was much higher in Nunavut(23.7%) than elsewhere in Canada. Relatively highrates of severe food insecurity were also observedin Yukon (5.1%), Northwest Territories (5.0%), andNova Scotia (4.6%). Severe food insecurity waslowest in Quebec, with a prevalence of 2.3%.9Prevalence tells us the proportion of the populationor subpopulation experiencing food insecurity. Tounderstand how the problem of food insecurityaffects Canadians, it is also instructive to examinethe distribution of individuals living in food-insecurehouseholds across the country. In 2017-18, 84% ofpeople living in food-insecure households were inone of four provinces: Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, orBritish Columbia.Ontario, Québec, Alberta & British Columbiaaccounted for the largest share of food insecurehouseholds in Canada, accounting for:84%OF THE FOODINSECUREPOPULATIONData Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Community HealthSurvey (CCHS), 2017-18.

Which Householdsare Most Vulnerableto Food Insecurity?NUMBER OF PEOPLE LIVING INFOOD-INSECURE HOUSEHOLDSby Province & 0ON1,719,300MB175,900SK164,000ABAmong households with children, the risk of foodinsecurity is much higher for lone parents thancouples. In 2017-18, 11.8% of couples with childrenunder 18 were food-insecure, but this rate rose to21.6% for male lone-parent households and 33.1%for female lone-parent households with childrenunder 18.518,600BC555,700YT 6,100NT9,900NU24,500500,0001,000,000Household food insecurity is a measure of materialdeprivation, tightly linked to other indicatorsof social and economic disadvantage. Notsurprisingly, therefore, food insecurity is mostprevalent among households with inadequate,insecure incomes and few if any financial assets7.1,500,000HOUSEHOLDS WITH CHILDRENVS. THOSE WITHOUT CHILDRENNochildren 18in householdFood insecurity is more prevalent amonghouseholds with children than those withoutchildren. In 2017-18, 16.2% of households with atleast one child under 18 years of age were foodinsecure, compared to 11.4% of households withouta child under 18 years of age.MODERATELYFOOD INSECUREHouseholds with before-tax incomes in thelowest decile had the highest prevalence of foodinsecurity (35.6%) and 11.9% were severely foodinsecure. The prevalence of food insecurity fellto 22% among households in the second lowestincome decile, and only 5.5% reported severe foodinsecurity. The rate of food insecurity continuedto fall as household income rose (See AppendixC for the detailed breakdown of household foodinsecurity status by income decile).MARGINALLYSEVERELYFOOD INSECUREFOOD INSECURE3.1%4.8%3.6%11.4% total food insecureOne or morechildren 18in householdMODERATELYFOOD INSECUREMARGINALLYFOOD INSECURESEVERELYFOOD INSECURE2.9%8.3%Data Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Community Health Survey(CCHS), 2017-18.5.1 %7 For a more in-depth analysis of the predictors of foodinsecurity in Canada, see Tarasuk et al, Geographic and sociodemographic predictors of household food insecurity in Canada,2011-12. BMC Public Health 2019;19.16.2% total food insecure10

KEYFood Insecurity Levels byMAIN SOURCE OF HOUSEHOLD INCOMESevere Household Food InsecurityModerate Household Food InsecurityMarginal Household Food InsecurityData Source: Statistics Canada, CanadianCommunity Health Survey (CCHS), 2%8.6%2.3%5.5%2.2%Wages, salaries orself-employment2.8%1.7%Senior’s income,including dividendsand interest11.6%EmploymentInsuranceor workers’compensationThe main source of a household’s income is alsoa strong predictor of their food security status.Households whose main source of income waseither pensions or dividends and interest had thelowest rate of food insecurity (6.8%). This findingis consistent with the results of earlier populationsurveys, and it has been linked to the protectiveeffect of Canada’s public pension system 8 . Foodinsecurity affected 11.7% of households relianton employment incomes, 32.0% of households25.4%Social Assistance4.8%Otherwho reported their main source of income asEmployment Insurance or Workers’ Compensation,60.4% of households reliant on social assistance(i.e. welfare and disability support programs), and18.4% of those reliant on other income sources(e.g., child benefits, child support, alimony, etc).Among households reliant on social assistance, thelevels of deprivation were substantial, with 25.8%experiencing moderate food insecurity and 25.4%experiencing severe food insecurity.8 See the discussion of this issue by Emery et al, How a guaranteed annual income could put food banks out of business. SPPResearch Papers 2013;6(37):1-20.11

Social assistance programs are administered bythe provincial and territorial governments and varyconsiderably across jurisdictions. The bar graphbelow presents the rate of food insecurity amongsocial assistance recipients by province andterritory. Social assistance recipients in Nunavuthad the highest rate of food insecurity in thecountry (93.1%); the lowest rate (54.9%) was foundin New Brunswick.Food-insecure households’MAIN SOURCE OF INCOMEKEYWages, salaries or self-employmentSenior’s income, including dividends and interestEmployment Insurance or workers’ compensationSocial AssistanceOtherProportion of Households Reliant onSOCIAL ASSISTANCE who were FoodInsecure by BSKABBCYTNTNUData Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Community Health Survey(CCHS), 2017-18.Although the prevalence of food insecurity amonghouseholds reliant on wages and salaries wasrelatively low, they made up the majority (65.0%)of food-insecure households9 . Conversely, whilesocial assistance recipients were at highest riskof food insecurity, they comprised only 14.5% ofall food-insecure households in the country. Thepercentage of food-insecure households who werereliant on wages and salaries differed by province,ranging from a low of 53.8% in Newfoundland andLabrador to a high of 75.2% in Alberta.9 To learn more about food insecurity in the workforce, seeMcIntyre et al, When working is not enough: food insecurity in theCanadian labour force. Public Health Nutrition 2012;17(1):49-57.1214.5%5.8%12.2%65.0%Proportion of Food-InsecureHouseholds who were relianton WAGES, SALARIES OR SELFEMPLOYMENT by .4%66.6%75.2%67.9%65.2%68.7 %61.4%NLPENSNBQCONMBSKABBCYTNTNUData Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Community Health Survey(CCHS), 2017-18.

Prevalence of Household Food Insecurityin Relation to RACIAL/CULTURAL IDENTITYRenters are much more likely thanhomeowners to be food-insecure.& INDIGENOUS kEast and Southeast AsianSouth AsianArab and West AsianIndigenousOther/Multiple originsData Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Community HealthSurvey (CCHS), 2017-18.Food insecurity is much more prevalent amonghouseholds who rent rather than own theirdwelling, with 25.4% of renters and 7.2% of ownersaffected by some degree of food insecurity. Infact, 61% of food-insecure households in Canadaare renting their accommodation. This finding isconsistent with the results of two recent Canadianstudies examining the protective effects of homeownership in relation to food insecurity10.Although the vast majority of food-insecurehouseholds in Canada identify as White, theprevalence of household food insecurity differsmarkedly by Indigenous status and racial/culturalgroup. The highest rates of food insecurity werefound among households where the respondentidentified as Indigenous or Black, at 28.2%, and28.9% respectively. While most of the differencesbetween racial/cultural groups shown in thegraph below diminish when other householdcharacteristics are taken into account, the muchgreater probability of food insecurity amongIndigenous and Black households persists11 .Some other household characteristicsassociated with increased risk of foodinsecurity:Food insecurity was also more prevalentamong households with lower levels ofeducation. Whereas only 7.2% of householdsincluding at least one member with a Bachelor’sdegree or higher were food insecure, this rate roseto 13.9% among those with other post-secondaryeducation, 18.4% among households where thehighest level of educational attainment was highschool completion, and 21.1% among those whereno one had completed high school.The prevalence of food insecurity differedin relation to respondent’s immigrationstatus. The prevalence among householdswhere the respondent was a recent immigrantto Canada (less than 5 years) was 17.1%, but therate for households where the respondent hadimmigrated to the country five or more years agowas 13.8%, approaching the rate for Canadian-bornrespondents (12.2%)12.10 To learn more about the relationship betweenhomeownership and food insecurity, see McIntyre et al,Homeowner versus non-homeowner differences in householdfood insecurity in Canada. Journal of Housing and the BuiltEnvironment 2015;31(2):349-66. doi: 10.1007/s10901-015-9461-6;and Fafard St-Germain & Tarasuk, International Journal of Equityin Health 2020.12 When other household characteristics (e.g., income,housing tenure, income source) are taken into account,studies repeatedly indicate that immigration per se isnot an independent risk factor for food insecurity inCanada. However, it is important to note that refugeescannot be identified through the data available in CCHS.11 See analysis of vulnerability associated with race andIndigenous status in McIntyre et al, When working is not enough:food insecurity in the Canadian labour force. Public Health Nutrition 2012;17(1):49-57; and Tarasuk et al. Household food insecurity inOntario during a period of poverty reduction, 2005-2014. Canadian Public Policy 2019.13

How Many Childrenare Affected?Is the Problem of FoodInsecurity in CanadaGetting Betteror Worse?In 2017-18, 17.3% of children under 18 years ofage in Canada (an estimated 1,227,900 children)lived in households affected by some level of foodinsecurity.The prevalence of food insecurity for householdswith children differs dramatically depending onthe province or territory of residence. Nunavutand the Northwest Territories had the highestprevalence of children living in food-insecurehouseholds, at 78.7% and 30.0% respectively.Elsewhere in Canada, however, the proportion ofchildren living in food-insecure households wasalso of concern. Over 20% of children in Manitobaand Saskatchewan and about 19% of childrenin Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and NewBrunswick were in food-insecure households.This means that about 1 in 5 children in theseprovinces were in families who sometimesstruggled to afford the food they needed. Thelowest prevalence of children in food-insecurefamilies was found in British Columbia, at 15.1%.Although food insecurity has been measuredconsistently in Canada since 2005, major changesto the design of the CCHS in 2015 mean that theresults from 2017-18 are only directly comparableto those from the 2015-16 survey cycle. The graphbelow shows the prevalence of total (marginal,moderate and severe) food insecurity in eachprovince and territory in 2015-16 and 2017-18,with blanks for the three jurisdictions that didnot measure their food insecurity in 2015-16.Differences from one survey cycle to the nextcan only be considered statistically significant ifthe 95% confidence intervals for these estimates(indicated by the thin black line at the top of eachcolumn) do not overlap. The only statisticallysignificant change in prevalence was in Quebecwhere food insecurity fell from 12.7% in 2015-16 to11.1% in 2017-18.PROPORTION OF CHILDREN UNDER 18Who Lived in Food-InsecureHouseholdsData Source: StatisticsCanada, CanadianCommunity HealthSurvey (CCHS),2017-18.18.3%

Household food insecurity refers to the inadequate or insecure access to food because of financial constraints. Food insecurity takes a serious toll on individuals' health and well-being, and it places a significant burden on our health care system. Although there has been rigorous measurement and monitoring of household food insecurity in Canada