In episode six of the latest season of the Courage My Friends podcast series, co-executive director of Food Secure Canada, Marissa Alexander and executive director of North York Harvest Food Bank, Ryan Noble discuss the alarming outcomes of Toronto’s Who’s Hungry report, the growing food and poverty crisis in Toronto and across Canada and urgent actions that need to be taken by policy-makers and civil society in averting this ever-worsening crisis.
Reflecting on reasons for the record number of food banks visits this year, Noble says:
“It’s not as if there’s been a sudden shock over the last year. What we’re seeing is the continued culmination of insufficient supports for people, public and private, to deal with skyrocketing costs of living … whether those are employment supports, social assistance supports, settlement supports, to deal with an out of control cost of living, primarily driven by housing, but also by the cost of food and other essentials.”
According to Alexander:
“I don’t think the systems are breaking down. I think the systems are working exactly as they were designed, which is not to support those who are the most marginalized and oppressed… like capitalism, but also the patriarchy, systemic racism and oppression … So if we’re going to make changes to ensuring that those people aren’t “falling through the cracks,” we have to make sure that those cracks aren’t designed for them to fall through.”
About today’s guest:
Marissa (she/they) is a registered dietitian and co-executive director of Food Secure Canada, who is passionate about anti-racism, food security, and equity. Living and working on the traditional and unceded territory of the Lheidli T’enneh, she has had the honour of working alongside 55 First Nations communities in northern BC. She is also privileged to be able to connect with many different peoples and communities through her anti-racism consulting work. In her very little spare time, she is working on her Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies with a focus on equity and cultural studies. Access her socials here: Website / Instagram- @fscrad / Facebook / LinkedIn / X- @FoodSecureCAN
Since 2015, Ryan Noble has served as the executive director of the North York Harvest Food Bank. Previously, he was the vice chair of NYHFB’s board of directors. Under Ryan’s leadership, the organization has embraced a model of ‘community wealth building,’ integrating traditional charitable activities with social enterprise and workforce development initiatives. He is a past member of the Ontario Nonprofit Network’s Policy Committee and the past chair and current member of the Board of Directors of Feed Ontario.
Check out this year’s annual Who’s Hungry Report
Transcript of this episode can be accessed at georgebrown.ca/TommyDouglasInstitute or here.
Image: Marissa Alexander, Ryan Noble / Used with permission.
Music: Ang Kahora. Lynne, Bjorn. Rights Purchased.
Intro Voices: Ashley Booth (Podcast Announcer); Bob Luker (Tommy)
Courage My Friends Podcast Organizing Committee: Chandra Budhu, Ashley Booth, Resh Budhu.
Produced by: Resh Budhu, Tommy Douglas Institute and Breanne Doyle, rabble.ca.
Host: Resh Budhu.
