A couple of years ago, members of The Stop Community Food Centre launched an advocacy campaign called, "Do The Math Challenge." They estimated that individuals receiving Ontario Works had, on average, $5/a day left for all their expenses, once they paid their rent. Can we live on $5/day allowance? Can we access the nutritious food essential for our health and well-being on that daily income? Where can we live?
In November of last year, The Local Community Food Centre, in Stratford, organized a town hall meeting around this challenge. They engaged community members in a conversation about health, poverty and equity. Key members of the community had agreed to participate in the challenge prior to the meeting and they shared their observations and findings at the gathering. The following video documents the process and summarizes the conversation that ensued:
Do you want to do the math? The Stop's campaign is available on line. Take the survey and see how you would fare. What does this tell you? What do we need to put in place to make sure that all of us, regardless of income, are able to live dignified lives and access the healthy food that we need to be healthy and productive members of society?
