The cost of healthy eating went up by more than seven per cent in Toronto in the past year, and that has Toronto's chief medical officer of health calling for more food help for the poor.
In a report presented Monday to the Board of Health, the "nutritious food basket" for a family of four in Toronto costs $146.37 per week, or $633.78 per month, which is 7.4 per cent more than in 2008.
" The sum of average monthly rent and NFB together add up to $150 more than monthly social assistance for a Toronto family of four, who would still face other expenses such as transportation, household and personal care items, clothing and school supplies," the city said in a news release.
Public health units have been required to monitor the prices of nutritious foods since 1999.
As a result, Dr. David McKeown, Toronto's chief medical officer of health, called on the province to ensure all Ontarians can eat a healthy, culturally acceptable diet during a time of rising fruit and vegetable prices and growing unemployment.
"We know there is a direct correlation between nutritious food and health, especially in the prevention of chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease," he said in a news release.
"When the price of healthy food remains out of reach for so many people, we are faced with a serious health threat that is within the power of government to prevent."
Ontario has launched a poverty reduction strategy, but the Liberal government has not raised social assistance rates enough to cover the cost of healthy food.
Toronto Public Health had joined the call for a $100 health food supplement for adults on social assistance.
McKeown recommended the board of health ask for the provincial government to raise its social assistance rates to cover the real cost of healthy living and index that figure to inflation.
He did say Toronto food prices remain low relative to cities around the world.
But " "the lack of commitment on the part of governments to addressing the real causes of hunger - low wages, inadequate social assistance rates, and the high costs of housing, childcare and other fixed essentials - means too many Toronto families continue to be vulnerable," he said.
