Food Insecurity Issues

Food insecurity develops from the underlying socioenvironmental structures within the Aboriginal community. Primarily, these factors are poverty (low income) and accessibility issues). To begin with, low income negatively influences an individual’s buying pattern. Specifically, it limits the purchase of expensive, healthy products and encourages cheap, unhealthy diets. The cost of food in general is 2 to 3 times higher in northern markets (Aboriginal communities) than in southern markets. As mentioned previously, low income results from poor education and unemployment, since adequate education is important in the attainment of high-paying jobs. Unfortunately, studies show that 40% of Aboriginal men and women (Indian, Métis, and Inuit) do not

Accessing a grocery store requires transportation. The cost of transportation includes, car payments, fuel costs, and bus fares. A family of low income may limit trips to the supermarket and purchase non-perishable items instead of fresh products due to their longer shelf-life, to save money. Some individuals would travel south for grocery store because they offered a variety of products compared to the few grocery stores in their community. The other reasons of not going to grocery stores include, far bust stops from the store and lack of variety of foods in the store, and limited-access roads. Traditional foods also require more money. For instance, wild activities such as hunting and fishing requires extra cost for equipment such as, guns, fishing rods, ammunition, and fuel to reach their destinations. The rate of these activities have decline due to their high costs and uncertainty of food acquirement. Other reasons include, time constraints and poor skills of younger Aboriginals. Traditional foods may also be unavailable due to environmental changes. For instance, geese settle in their areas if there is snow, making them an easy prey. The decrease in the practice of traditional activities reflects a decrease in traditional food, which limits the exposure of Aboriginal children to these healthy