Should Government Subsidy Help the Poor People Gain Access to Healthy Food?

Canada’s government does a lot to help the people living in the country. By providing a free elementary and secondary education, free healthcare and living in a country that accepts people regardless of who they are, Canada is doing an amazing job. But throughout all the positive work being put into the country some issues could be improved. Many families are struggling to provide food that is healthy due to their affordability. Many children go to school without a breakfast because their families cannot afford it. While parents struggle to feed their children, they are forced to provide food that does not have the full number of nutrients a child needs since healthier food options are too expensive. Countless amounts of Canadians do not even know that a country as well as Canada has food related issues since food insecurities are hardly ever discussed. Many Canadians do not see the lives of people in low-income communities and how many families struggle just to keep food on the table. The governments should help families afford healthier food options since not only will it benefit the children, but also the parents because it will allow everyone to lead a healthier and more positive lifestyle.

One of the biggest actions Canada has not taken part of is food stamps. Many countries around the world such as the USA provide people of low income with food stamps so that they could still eat. But Canada still has not gone on board with this idea yet. The government does not want to take part since they assume Canadians will sell the food stamps to support their addictions. That does not mean that every single person is like that. If food stamps were given out families would be able to buy healthy ingredients to make more healthy home cooked meals. For many people who cannot afford healthy ingredients, they chose fast food since it is a much cheaper option. If food stamps were given out families would have more home cooked meals. This would help lower Canada’s obesity rate since home cooked meals have less trans fat, sodium and sugar than foods bought at fast foods.

Many Canadians do not know about breakfast programs taking place in public schools. Many students in low-income communities can not focus because they are hungry. In Ontario, many schools have programs that allows kids to come to school early to eat a breakfast so they can go to class with a full stomach. These programs would be able to help a lot more schools if more Canadians were more aware about this idea. However, lunches and dinner aren’t supported. If more Canadians knew about this program, more funding would occur and many more kids would be fed. These programs offer healthy foods to children that are full of the nutrients their parents can not afford. Eating healthy makes a difference in a child’s life because they can be more alert and pay more attention therefore get better grades. Not only should breakfast be provided but lunch should to. Many kids in these neighborhoods do not know if they would have food on the table everyday and if they have a breakfast and lunch at school than they at least get enough to be able to last the rest of the night.

While having a job that doesn’t pay much already, paying the bills leave little to properly feed their families. With grocery store prices getting pricier, parents are forced to go for the less healthy options. “Parents with limited financial means try to eliminate the risk of paying for food that will be wasted by buying what their kids enjoy eating” (Caitlin Daniel, a PhD candidate in sociology at Harvard University). Kids regardless how well off their families are normally go for junk food. If a parent is already having a hard time providing food for their families, why would they want to spend money on fruits and vegetables that their kids would probably not even want to eat? Many parents often buy foods with longer shelf lives so that it would not go to waste as fast as less chemically altered foods would. These parents are often buying pre-made dinners such as chicken nuggets, pizza pockets, etc. Kids born in low income families often are so used to eating unhealthy, that their taste buds aren’t used to healthier food options. These children will grow up with these unhealthy eating habits and develop diseases such as diabetes and heart diseases due to their diets.

Food banks in Canada often carry more foods that are preservative and have longer shelf lives than foods that are fresh. Many foods that are donated to food banks are often foods with long shelf lives. These foods often lack nutrients because they have been chemically altered to last longer. When fresh fruits and vegetables are donated, they are often close to rotting and most of the time inedible. People are more likely to buy frozen vegetables because it would last a lot longer in their homes. Many people are not aware that food banks are not supported by governments and that they rely on the support of regular people. Food banks are charities that require people to help donate foods and most of the time it gets hard for them to supply everyone with healthy foods. Each month more than 850,000 Canadians go to food banks. Many of these people are often teens and children. These teens often come from broken families where the parents either do not work or their jobs do not provide enough.