March is Nutrition Month: you can help us Stop the Growl. United Way British Columbia wants your help to ensure that all Lower Mainland kids and families have access to healthy and affordable food. One in five British Columbians have skipped a meal either because they could not afford food or so that their children could eat. And one-third of people accessing foodbanks are children. The average monthly cost of a nutritionally adequate, balanced diet for a family of four in British Columbia is $938.* But we know that many families in the Lower Mainland aren’t able to afford this type of basic nutritious food on a monthly basis. Ensuring that families are food secure is more than just addressing the immediate needs of people who are hungry. United Way is committed to tackling the underlying factors of food insecurity by investing in 22 initiatives across the Lower Mainland, projects like community gardens and community kitchens, that not only help people get access to food they need but provide lifelong knowledge of how to eat well and be healthy. That’s just the tip of the iceberg. Food is an important component in many of our funded programs – particularly those that are focused on our communities’ vulnerable children and their families. In addition to the funds designated specifically to food-related programs, our community service providers spend, on average, 10% of their program budgets on healthy meals and snacks. In 2014/15 alone, our School’s Out Programs served over 22,000 meals and 41,000 snacks to kids participating in our after school programs. Lack of access to adequate healthy and nutritious food can lead to negative physical and mental health effects that impact individuals, families and our region. Children deprived of nutritious diets are less healthy, less likely to succeed in school, and more likely to face physical and economic difficulties for the rest of their lives. Every day this month, we will be publishing a healthy and affordable recipe for $15 for a family of 4. We will also be publishing tips for stretching a food budget. Recipes and tips submitted came from our funded agencies, food writers and bloggers, and other partners. Thanks for joining the conversation and helping to bring greater awareness to food security in our community. Get involved*$938 is based on the 2013 Dieticians of Canada “Nutritious Food Basket” for BC being $914 and adjusted to $938 in 2015 based on Statistics Canada Consumer Price Index.
