Healthy food is becoming increasingly out of reach for low-income families on Vancouver Island, a new report says.
These prices are among the highest in B.C., with only two other health-authority regions with higher costs: the Northshore- Coast Garibaldi region and the Northwest region. Food insecurity for children could cause problems such as an increase in inattention and inactivity in a critical part of their life, Enns said.
“Nutritious foods tend to be heavy food,” she said. While there often are cheaper alternatives, they are often “empty calorie” foods high in calorie but low in nutrition, she said. “People who are not food secure or have to make tough decisions about what they are eating, these people are experiencing high rates of chronic disease,” Enns said. “They have poor oral health, they have mental-health challenges, they access the health-care system more often and they have a lower life expectancy.
“People are making really hard decisions on where their money goes,” Enns said. “Families need to have food security so they don’t have to make those tough choices on any day.”