The Stop: How the Fight for Good Food Transformed a
Community and Inspired a Movement,
By Nick Saul and Andrea Curtis,
Random House, 320 pages, $29.95 hardcover.
The Stop started as a food bank on Davenport Avenue west of
the heart of downtown Toronto and in 1998, when Nick Saul arrived as a young
and novice general manager, it was in a state of constant crisis.
He took the goal of food banks seriously – that they are
intended to be only short-term relief on the way to long-term and sustainable
solutions.
It hasn’t worked out that way, but not for lack of trying at
The Stop where Saul was bold and disciplined about limiting handouts and
seeking alternatives to address poverty, which is the root issue.
The book tells, step by step, how The Stop emerged as far
more than a food bank and is now spreading its approach across Canada, starting
at Perth and Stratford, Ont.
Growing food, preparing nutritious meals and pressing
politicians for change are all part of the ambitious agenda.
I have no quarrel with the goals, but I do object to the
constant criticism of North America’s agriculture and food industries. They do
an outstanding job of delivering an abundance of wholesome food at reasonable
prices, far better than the agriculture and food industries of many other
nations.
I think Saul is unfair to blame farmers and food companies
for the epidemic of obesity and diabetes. Much more responsibility rests with
consumers.
I think he is particularly unfair when he says society pays
tremendous costs for our food industry, things that economists call “externalities”
such as pollution.
He says nothing about the “externalities” of the model
developed at The Stop.
It is a registered charity and sucks on society via tax
breaks for donors. I doubt Canadians want a farming and food industry that
depends on tax-break charitable donations.
However, I agree entirely with Saul’s main point that
Canadians need to wake up to the dire straits endured by impoverished
Canadians. It is a national tragedy and disgrace.
