Vote for a Poverty Free Ontario


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York Regioner's recently attended a Put the Food in the Budget campaign rally in Toronto

MM-mm-marginalized! New Seasonal Multicultural Mexican Fajita keeps workers happy too!

Social Planning Council of YR meets recently with PACC in attendance to keep things honest! Ha

York University Professeur Marvin Novick addresses at the Poverty Free Ontario launch

I read an article today in the Toronto Sun about the Campbell's Soup Company of how they are helping end hunger by selling a 'special"nutritious soup called "Nourish", and donating 25 cents from each can sold towards supposedly ending world hunger, then also donating one can for every can sold to Food Banks Canada. MMM - m-marginalized! Or as Nancy Roman, spokesperson for the important sounding United Nations World Food Program said,

" When children start the day hungry, they can focus on little else, including their schoolwork."

Aw, how nice...touching in fact..I can just see all those kids lining up in droves to eat a can of "Nourish" soup for breakfast. Right. Somehow I don't think this will be a "Hey Mikey, he likes it!" moment. How about just doling the $ right into their parents' hands so they can purchase fresh food themselves that their kids may actually eat? Dignity needs no middleman as our PACC Vice- Chair Kristine Carbis once panned. Uncanny. Pun semi-intended. Okay fully.

I say this knowing our provincial government's assigned poverty reduction taskmaster, er mistress rather, Minister Laurel Broten, recently had a photo-op with the Campbell's company president extolling the virtues of reducing poverty through "these types of partnerships". It's time they officially married methinks. This is how our government chooses to attack poverty? By leaving it to private organizations to provide charity - and we assume tax breaks - in lieu of taking on the responsibility of ending poverty themselves, erstwhile entrenching food-banks as a viable source for nutrition - which they are not. Where we live they dole out 3 days rations a month, with many people choosing to forgo this option as too much of an expense / trip or as too stigmatizing. While Nordic countries such as Sweden, Denmark, and Netherlands can virtually eliminate poverty, we here in rich Ontario (Canada) cannot afford to take care of our own it would seem. Don't buy into the excuses. Ask your provincial election candidates to publicly support real changes for families and singles through initiatives like the $ 100 Healthy Food Supplement ... Watch for further updates.

Or for those wishing to address the much "sexier" issues of the 'working poor"(my prediction on the government's next strategy focus, through housing benefits etc and initiatives focused to low income workers) please attend the upcoming movie screening of " Poor No More" on June 2nd at the R Hill Library 1 Atkinson St or June 9th in Newmarket at 7pm at Crosslands Church at 47 Millard Ave W in Newmarket which examines the "working poor" issues in Canada and visits Sweden to showcase that / how poverty eradication can be done. Email kima@yrfn.ca to attend a screening.
Eradicating poverty, as opposed to reducing poverty, is also part of the mission of new Poverty Free Ontario.

We also look towards announcing some new soups ourselves - including mental- health minestrone, vagabond vegetable, cream of crop, Broten broth, and much much more!
Watch for our new Marinated Mediterranean SALAD IN A CAN as well!
MM-mm - multicultural good!!Ha! Can it already!

Here are some more cool dates and events upcoming:

Since I missed Toronto's, June 6 in Hamilton is an invite for attending the forum for "Playing for "Keep's" an invite to decide what gets done with facilities etc after the upcoming 2012 and 2015 games here.

The Social Planning Network of Ontario in cooperation with the Social Planning Council of York Region and the Human Services Planning Board of York Region presents - Human Dignity for All - Working for a Poverty Free Ontario - at the Aurora Public Library 15145 Yonge St 9AM - 12 noon on Tues June 7th with presenters SPNO's Peter Clutterbuck and Professeur Marvyn Novick.
www.povertyfreeontario.ca

ISARC religious leaders forum. By invite only.This should be good, as I never pictured myself as a religious leader, but by virtue of PACC hosting and myself co-authoring the YR ISARC directed social audit, I guess somehow I sneaked in through the back door.
http://isarc.ca/religiousleadersforumJune10.html

..And finally if you haven't yet and live in York Region or work regionally please check out this important survey part of a Trillium Foundation and York University in partnership with the York Region Community Foundation project asking for direct input for change.

I leave you with this inspirational musical pictorial inspired by Y.R.'s first ever social audit
Behind The Masks... testimonials from those marginalized by income

2 Response to "Vote for a Poverty Free Ontario"

  1. Anonymous June 1, 2011 at 11:41 PM
    You're right -- letting corporations and the private sector make even bigger profits by making some token nod at poverty issues is a wrong step in the wrong direction. Soup in a can is hardly nutritious enough to put Campbell's into any special privileged role to feed people. And they still make money on it! Food banks were supposed to be emergency measures. The system wastes a lot of resources -- transportation money, gas, etc -- as well-meaning people go buy food, the food somehow gets to the food bank, and then other people have to go get it. There's no rhyme or reason to what foods get collected in what quantities, let alone making sure it's healthy food. A systematic approach to funding food programs would make more sense. And for pete's sake, just give people the ability to buy their own food in stores. Even that would be more efficient than sending the same cans on multiple trips around town before they ever help anyone.
  2. Unknown June 2, 2011 at 11:15 AM
    It's the dream gig, they get tax write-off kick backs for their donations, plus make profits still, get free publicity, and create a goodwill image for themselves all via all by exploiting the impoverished. Leave the business of feeding our people to our governments and let do-gooders handle just the gravy I say! Does Campbells make gravy? Ha!

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