1 in 8 Canadian households worried about running out of food

A new report says nearly one in eight Canadian households couldn’t access sufficient, safe and nutritious food in 2011.

The study by PROOF calls food insecurity “a serious social and public health problem” that affects 3.9 million Canadians.

About 330,000 households worried they would run out of food before being able to afford more.

And it’s a growing problem in many parts of Canada, the report says, with rates of food insecurity remaining at or above yearly rates measured since 2005.

The study found “alarming rates” of food insecurity in the North and the Maritimes.

Nunavut had the highest rates nationally with 36 per cent of households affected, while rates in the Maritimes, Yukon and the Northwest Territories exceeded 15 per cent.

The study included research from the University of Toronto, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the University of Calgary and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.

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