New survey, online tool to track P.E.I.'s rural food security, as pantry use grows

Food insecurity on P.E.I. was on the rise before the COVID-19 pandemic, and it's showing no sign of stopping.

According to a new tool released by Community Food Centres Canada, 29 per cent, or almost one-third of all Islanders are currently living in food insecurity.

"This is the highest rate of food insecurity across all provinces. The national average is only 23 per cent," said Anthony Musiwa, senior policy adviser at Community Food Centres Canada.

Statistics Canada also calculated that the Island had the highest food insecurity in 2019, 2020 and 2022.

The problem isn't just in cities. Even more people in rural areas are struggling to get enough to eat.

"In P.E.I., what jumps out, especially in the past few years, has been high unemployment rates and also against the backdrop of COVID-19 and the impacts of COVID-19," Musiwa said.

Bonnie Shave, who runs the community pantry in Orwell Cove, is well aware of the growing issue.

"It's a little discouraging to see our community need this service so desperately," she said. "Hopefully we'll see a day where we no longer need this little building here, but until then we're more than happy to help in any way that we can."

Keeping shelves stocked

The pantry started up about two years ago, and Shave said the number of people using it has at least tripled since then.

"It is concerning to know that our neighbours, our friends, our community are struggling financially," she said.

When the pantry first started up, Shave used to check in about once a week to make sure the shelves were stocked. Now, it's nearly every day.

"There are times when it's stocked really well and then two hours later someone will call or message me saying the pantry is really empty," she said. "It's just a sign of the times."

Shave said it's not always the same people accessing the fridge every day. Increasingly, there are Islanders in a difficult situation who aren't able to put food on the table at home.

"A lot of, you know, hard working everyday people that are just having a little difficulty this month. So I think we're seeing an increase in one-time and first-time users," she said.

Shave said there are other community organizations and plenty of volunteers who help keep the pantry stocked. But still, she has to be very conscious of where donations are spent.

"I've never been as attentive to sales in my life as I am now," she said. "I pick through the flyers every week when they come out. I'm online looking for sales and stuff.

The Orwell fridge is often full of canned foods like beans and soups, boxes of Kraft Dinner as well as bags of potatoes donated by G. Visser & Sons, which is located next to the fridge. But Shave tries her best to get things like meat and protein for the fridge, too.

"I do work with some of the meat markets in the area and I'll just call them up and they're pretty good to give me a good deal," she said.

And while Shave thinks the pantry is a great help to many people in the surrounding area, she wishes it didn't have to exist at all.

"I'm hoping there will come a day when there won't be a need for it, that's the best-case scenario," she said. "But until then, I think we're all doing the best we can to keep it going."

Tracking rural food access

Researchers from New Brunswick's Mount Allison University are studying food insecurity in rural areas of P.E.I.

Undergraduate student Oliver Batchilder is the lead researcher, and said the increase in food insecurity in rural areas is concerning.

"Not only is the issue getting worse, but it's affecting more and more people across the country," he said.

The study will involve a survey that's being promoted in six communities: Souris, Crapaud, O'Leary, Alberton, Kensington, and Three Rivers.

"We're asking any individuals that live within those communities or within two kilometres of those communities to fill out that survey," Batchilder said, noting that posters with a QR code for the survey are posted throughout those areas and on social media.

Many times, people living rurally have lower incomes than people living in cities, and that certainly plays a role in affording food.

"Cost of living and the fact that income hasn't kept up with the cost of living is a significant factor that contributes to food insecurity across jurisdictions," Batchilder said.

Rural communities like the ones on P.E.I. often have a strong social fabric, but that can be both positive and negative.

"In many ways this has actually helped rural communities achieve some level of food security," he said. "However … these higher levels of connection also have the potential to lead to higher levels of stigma of accessing alternative food sources in these areas"

Solutions through policy, income

Batchilder hopes his research will be able to inform future policies when it comes to how provinces tackle food insecurity.

"We're really hoping that this survey and the study is going to be able to address some of those gaps," he said. "And be able to contribute to both better food security outcomes, better health outcomes for Islanders that are living in the rural communities that we're in the process of studying."

On that aspect, Musiwa agrees that it's largely policy that would make a difference when it comes to how Canadians afford food.

"We wanted people to have the information and the power to connect with their policymakers and other community food organizations to brainstorm and advocate for policy solutions that address these issues," he said.

But Musiwa said there are structural problems too, especially for racialized and Indigenous people.

"This goes back to a history, both historical and ongoing colonial and discriminatory policies that really do not prioritize the interests and preferences and the needs of Indigenous and racialized people," he said.

"If you're looking at the Black community, for example, they have not had a fair chance in terms of access to land. And we know land is very important for agricultural production and food production, especially culturally appropriate food production."

Batchilder noted that the P.E.I. government has put forward legislative commitments, saying it will eliminate childhood food insecurity by 2025, and eliminate the issue for all Islanders by 2030.

But whether that will actually happen is still up in the air.

"We have to make sure that we invest in ensuring that our communities are able to achieve food sovereignty, that they're able to produce their own food, that the price of food is able to stay at a level that is manageable for residents of the Island," he said.

"But we really hope that the outcome of this study is going to be able to create more informed policy choices on this matter."