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Freedom 90 Newsletter

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April 9, 2013 info@freedom90.ca
March 25, 2013
Ottawa Citizen - Op-Ed - Craig and Marc Kielburger
Fighting hunger is more than handing out food
the food bank in perth, ont., changed its name last year to the table community food centre.

the difference? everything.

from a single-staff operation handing out canned food to those in need, the table has become a bustling hive of healthy food, community building and empowerment.

this is what the reimagined food "centre" in perth looks like: dads and their kids invade the community kitchen on tuesday evenings to learn basic cooking skills and share the meal they’ve prepared together. on thursday mornings, pregnant and new moms and their partners cook, eat and share perinatal care and nutrition advice. there may be an after-school group in the herb garden out back, or an advocacy workshop on how to organize for social change around issues from affordable housing to improved public transit.

read the full article at the ottawa citizen website
APRIL 5, 2013
Toronto Film Scene - Review - Kristal Cooper
A Place at the Table
Image of the authorWhen we talk about hunger, most people's first thought would be to the images of bone thin children in third world countries regularly broadcast by charities looking for donations. Most people don’t think about the hunger problem that's happening right here in North America because it’s simply not as talked about nor are its visual markers the same as we’re used to seeing.

... The most staggering realization is that most of the people profiled in the film are working yet still don’t make enough to buy groceries to last them the month due to the rising cost of healthy food in a country where there’s more than enough healthy food to go around. As a result, many families rely on low cost, low nutrition food that affects their weight (who would think that the obesity epidemic could be related to hunger?) or they just don’t eat more than once a day.

Read the complete review at the Toronto Film Scene website
April 2013
The Walrus - Essay - Nick Saul
The Hunger Game - Food banks may compound the very problems they should be solving
Logo of The WalrusPicture a vast warehouse the size of a football field. Forklifts stand loaded with wooden pallets and cardboard boxes tightly secured with heavy-duty plastic wrap. In aisle upon aisle, boxes sit on metal shelves that reach all the way to the ceiling. It might be an IKEA store or any modern commodity warehouse. But this is a food bank or, more accurately, a food bank distribution warehouse. Every major Canadian city has one. The largest send out nearly 8 million kilograms of food a year to the hungry people lining up at community-based food banks.
Read the complete essay at the website of The Walrus - The magazine about Canada and its place in the world
March 22, 2013
The Star - Food is a human right, but Canada is overlooking its obligations to the poor
Hungry, and hungry for action: Fiorito
Joe FioritoWe tend not to think of the poor in small towns because Toronto is a big town; oh, hell, we don't think much about the poor here, either.

But at least in Toronto we have shelters, such as they are; services, such as they are: hospitals, food banks, meal programs, and the clothing banks here are so good that you cannot tell income or status by looking at the way a person dresses.

We also have buses, streetcars and subways to get from one service to another, even if transit is pricey.

All of which is to say I was in Newmarket the other day for a nifty little public policy event when, on the way into the hall, I noticed a car in the parking lot, jammed to the roof with stuff; clothing, food, sleeping bags; just stuff. Somebody moving?

The woman I was with said she knew the driver, and the driver was homeless, and lived in her car. The point?

Read the full article at The Star website
March 25, 2013
Economics for Public Policy - Miles Corak
Inequality: for the 10th grader in you
Image of Miles CorakHi my name is Z... and I am in 10th grade, I have a history project relating to economic inequality and social justice. I found your blog on economic inequality online and I was wondering if you could answer my interview questions, the questions are - What has happened to make economic inequality relevant in Canadian history? and To what degree has a commitment to social justice been significant in creating Canada today? ...

1. What has happened to make economic inequality relevant in Canadian history? ...

2. To what degree has a commitment to social justice been significant in creating Canada today? ...

Read the full blog at Economics for Public Policy
March 22, 2013
rabble - John Bonnar's Blog
Anti-poverty groups call for $14 an hour minimum wage in Ontario
Image downloaded from rabbleUnfreeze minimum wage. Increase it to $14 an hour. Then index it to the rate of inflation.

Sounds simple enough.

The only question now is whether the Wynne Liberals will listen to anti-poverty and labour groups or bow to pressure from the business community who say an increase will only lead to cutbacks in the number of minimum wage workers.

Read the full blog at rabble.ca
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