WEBINAR: Pay the Rent and Feed the Kids: A Discussion on Community-Based Responses Linking Affordable Housing & Food Security
February 15, 2012 (1:30 PM - 3:00 PM ET)
Despite Canada’s relative wealth and stated commitments to the right to food at both national and international levels, close to 1 million households in Canada experience food insecurity every year. Food insecurity – the lack of access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food - is increasingly being recognized as a critical issue that lacks a comprehensive response by governments in Canada.
Because residents of social, affordable and supportive housing generally have low-incomes, the issue of food security is an especially relevant one for both residents and housing providers. Creative responses to this issue have been developed by both housing providers and communities themselves, from which lessons can be drawn. Food programs can not only improve individual health outcomes, but also present important opportunities for community building.
This webinar will take a deeper look at this issue, by examining both the scope and nature of household and neighbourhood food insecurity in Canada, as well as existing policy and programmatic responses. This webinar will equally examine the issue in detail through highlighting how one affordable and supportive housing provider has responded by developing a range of food programs, including community gardens in both supportive and family housing.
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PRESENTERS:
Valerie Tarasuk is a Professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences and the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto, where she has worked since 1994. Much of her research is focused on food insecurity, elucidating the scope and nature of household food insecurity in Canada and examining policy and programmatic responses. Her work has included studies of food banks and food bank users, homeless youth and community responses to the food needs of homeless and under-housed individuals, a study of housing, neighbourhood characteristics and food access among low-income Toronto families, an examination of meal services in Salvation Army shelters, and analyses of population survey data to elucidate the health, nutritional, and socio-demographic correlates of household food insecurity in Canada. She currently leads a large, interdisciplinary program of research designed to identify effective policy interventions for the reduction of household food insecurity in Canada. This work is supported by a CIHR Programmatic Grant to Tackle Health and Health Equity.
Karyn French is Executive Director of Pacifica Housing Advisory Association in Victoria and also serves as Board Chair for BC Non-Profit Housing Association. She has worked and volunteered in the public and non-profit sectors in BC and Washington State. Her career has focused on services and housing for seniors, people with disabilities, families and homeless individuals. Prior to working in the not-for-profit sector, Karyn attended the University of Alberta and gained valuable skills working in the field of Library Science, Conference Planning and Banking. Karyn is proud to be a fourth generation Victorian with strong community roots.
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Please note that, as always, webinars are free for CHRA members.
For non-members, the cost is $40 + tax.