Freedom 90 commits to raising its voice to demand an end
to poverty and an end
to the need for food banks and emergency meal programs in
Ontario. |
| May 28, 2013 |
| The Guardian - Patrick Butler's Cuts Blog |
| Poverty: 50 ways to close a food bank |
 As food banks struggle to cope with rising demand, they - and politicians - could learn valuable lessons from volunteers in Canada about the precarious nature of charity food provision.
Curiously, 50 Ways to Close the Food Bank is not sung by impatient young Marxists, but wise old mainstays of the community in Sudbury, Ontario. The "big society", if you like. For years they have been volunteers at the local food banks. And they've had enough.
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| Click here to read the full article at The Guardian website |
| May 28, 2013 |
| The Star - Laurie Monsebraaten - Social justice reporter |
| Toronto students learn local connection with World Hunger Day |
 More than 400,000 Ontarians turn to food banks every month, said Mike Balkwill of Put Food in the Budget, which is organizing a daylong forum for about 50 students from Yorkdale Secondary School and West End Alternative Secondary School.
"Hunger is a symptom of poverty. And poverty is about low income," he said.
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| Click here to read the full article at The Star website |
| May 25, 2013 |
| The Star - Editorial |
| Ontario needs an increase in the minimum wage |
 It has been three years since Ontario's low-wage workers got a boost of extra cash when the Liberal government of the day raised a minimum wage that had been frozen for nearly a decade.
It was a laudable decision, even though the hourly increase to $10.25 from $6.85 was too little to raise full-time low-earning workers above the poverty line.
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| Click here to read the full article at The Star website |
| May 23, 2013 |
| Civil Eats - Promoting critical thought about sustainable agriculture and food systems |
| Freedom 90: The Rebellion of the Canadian Church Ladies |
 What if the little old ladies who run the neighborhood church food pantry rebelled? What if they said "we're 70 years old, we've been feeding people for 20 years, and hell if we want to do it for another 20?" What if they demanded that the government reduce the incidence of poverty so that food pantries don't need to exist in the first place?
Hard to imagine? Well, that's exactly what has happened in the province of Ontario.
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| Click here to read the full article at the Civil Eats website |
| May 21, 2013 |
| House of Friendship - Sean Geobey |
| Getting out of the business of food banks |
 Food insecurity is a result of poverty and, however complex the causes of poverty are for an individual or family, an adequate income is part of the solution. However difficult the other circumstances are for someone living in poverty, the dignity that comes from being able to decide what you eat is deeply empowering. Beyond its individual empowerment, when people living in poverty see their incomes rise it has a social impact as well. |
| Click here to read the full article at the House of Friendship blog |
| November 5, 2009 (recently noted) |
| Edmonton Social Planning Council |
| The Trouble With Charity |
| Fifty-four per cent of all Canadian charities are run entirely by volunteers, says Image Canada [Imagine Canada--Ed.], a charity which acts as an advocacy group for Canada's charities.
And Canada boasts the second-largest non-profit and voluntary sector in the world. (The Netherlands is first; the United States is fifth.)
Charities have become an integral part of our economy, and the frayed patchwork fabric that comprises Canada's social safety net.
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| Click here to read the full article at the Edmonton Social Planning Council website |
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Freedom 90
c/o York Region Food Network
350 Industrial Parkway South
Aurora ON L4G 3V7
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