Opinion: Taking a bite out of poverty – Edmonton Journal

September 28, 2015

Once again, Edmontonians showed their generosity last month at the Heritage Festival and helped the Food Bank restock its shelves. News stories about hungry schoolchildren and editorials in this newspaper reminded us that hunger is still with us as we endure the current economic downturn.

Every month, almost 15,500 Edmontonians rely on a food hamper from Edmonton’s Food Bank and its affiliates. They are young mothers, recent immigrants, working poor and aboriginal people who have just come to the city from a reserve or Métis settlement. The numbers have been increasing and are expected to grow significantly.

Edmonton’s Food Bank recently completed a survey of 400 community members with the help of Deloitte Inc., to find out how people are coping. Some of the results may surprise readers. For example, 42 per cent of survey respondents have attended university, college or trades school. Slightly more than half report that their annual household income is less than $25,000, and they spend more than half their income on housing and utilities. About 70 per cent have no money by the third week of the month. And 70 per cent are not connected to any other social service agency in the city — they are surviving on their own and might be described as the invisible poor.

Read More: http://edmontonjournal.com/news/politics/9999-opedberger