October 6, 2015 – Donations Make a Difference to Local Student Nutrition Programs
Minute Maid staff was on hand this morning at St. John Catholic Elementary school serving food to students at the breakfast program. The special event recognized Minute Maid, who has been supplying our local breakfast programs in Peterborough and County with free, 100% orange juice, since 1996.
“Minute Maid’s ongoing generous donation of juice contributes cost savings to 34 of our local schools.” said Angela Fuchs, Student Nutrition Program Coordinator with Food for Kids Peterborough and County. School breakfast programs are invited to pick-up a free case of orange juice every month. “Donations of food and supplies allow programs to spend their precious funding dollars on healthy foods like cheese, fruits and vegetables.”
Minute Maid is one of over 120 generous businesses, grocers, organizations, schools, and community groups and members who support Food for Kids programs with financial and in-kind donations. Student breakfast programs invite all students to access healthy food, which allow them to attend school well-nourished and ready to learn. In the 2014-2015 school year, 17, 638 students enjoyed almost 2.4 million meals locally through local breakfast programs. Food for Kids is grateful to all who donate food, funding, supplies, space and volunteer time to make our programs a success!
Programs are partially funded by the Ontario Ministry of Children and Youth Services, Breakfast Clubs of Canada, and Breakfast for Learning through the Peterborough Family Resource Centre, as well as from generous donations from the community. To make a donation, visit our website www.peterboroughpublichealth.ca/ffk.
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For further information, please contact:
Luisa Magalhaes, MHSc, RD Angela Fuchs
Public Health Nutritionist Student Nutrition Program Coordinator
Peterborough Public Health Food For Kids Peterborough and County
705-743-1000, ext. 233 angela.fuchs@snpce.ca
October 6, 2015 – Researchers Say Now is the Time for New Approaches
A new report entitled Food Access, Housing Security and Community Connections: A Case Study of Peterborough, Ontario was released today by Carleton and Trent University academics, in association with the Centre for Sustainable Food Systems at Wilfrid Laurier University.
The report 
concludes that the community of Peterborough is doing many things right when it comes to addressing food insecurity and housing insecurity, but that the issues are not going away and may even be getting worse. It argues that it is time for some new, cross-cutting, approaches.
“Peterborough was chosen for this study because it faces challenges when it comes to both food insecurity and housing insecurity,” said Dr. Peter Andrée of Carleton University and lead author of the report. “Despite this, Peterborough is home to a vibrant collection of community-based initiatives working to address these issues alongside City and County governments.”
The report identifies household food insecurity as a growing issue in Peterborough City and County. Food insecurity research shows that 11.5% of households in the City and County of Peterborough are food insecure, an increase from the 10% reported in 2013. In 2011, 26% of households (including 48% of rental households) in Peterborough paid at least 30% of their income on housing (Statistics Canada, 2014). Because of insufficient affordable housing and low average wages, renters earning the average Peterborough wage of $18/hour had to work longer than in any other Canadian city to cover the average rent for a two-bedroom apartment.
“When people are forced to choose between food and shelter, housing is often paid for first, leaving families hungry at the end of the month,” noted Dr. Rosana Salvaterra, Medical Officer of Health and Chair of the Peterborough Food Action Network. “Clearly, the common denominator between the issues of food access and housing insecurity is insufficient income to make ends meet”.
The report concludes that all levels of government need to take the issue of income security much more seriously. It is time to take action on Living Wage and social assistance rates, and explore the potential of a Basic Income Guarantee.
The full report is available at: http://legacy.wlu.ca/docsnpubs_detail.php?grp_id=13686&doc_id=62514 .
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For further information, please contact:
Brittany Cadence Dr. Peter Andrée
Communications Supervisor Carleton University
705-743-1000, ext. 391 613-520-2600, ext. 1953
bcadence@peterboroughpublichealth.ca Peter.Andree@carleton.ca
