A point raised repeatedly during yesterday's program as we spoke of the Canada-wide rail shutdown was that food supplies would face increasing difficulty reaching grocery store shelves and that food prices would increase. Got us to thinking about the new Statscan information about the numbers of Canadian families facing food insecurity, The early 2024 numbers are increasingly disturbing. 45% of Canadians reported rising prices were greatly affecting their ability to meet day-to-day expenses (including food). - In 2023, 8.7 million people, including 2.1 million children, lived in households reporting food insecurity in Canada, an increase of 1.8 million people from the previous year. 

Consider the combined populations of Calgary and Edmonton are just over 3 million. 

Guest: Professor Valerie Tarasuk. University of Toronto. Founding investigator of PROOF, U of T effort to identify policy interventions to reduce household food insecurity in Canada.

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