LevelUp Planning Collaborative Inc., under the guidance of York Region Food Network (YRFN), undertook an investigation with the goals of improving understanding of the current state of food security and providing direction for how to address and assess food security in York Region.
Safe, secure, and equitable access to food is a basic need and the lack thereof (food insecurity) profoundly impacts the physical, mental, and social well-being of individuals, households, and communities. The issues affecting access to food are complex and rooted in structural, environmental, and social determinants of health with strong ties to poverty, structural inequity, stigma, and racism.
Successful strategies that address the root causes of food insecurity include income-based policies for low-income Canadians, social programs that improve housing and childcare affordability, improved population level surveillance and the collection of disaggregated data (especially race-based data) and using equitable approaches to food security initiatives.
This project was funded by the Regional Municipality of York and was overseen by York Region Food Network and a Research Advisory Committee.
