Maple
Leaf Foods and its president, Michael McCain, announced today that they are
investing more than $12.5 million over the next five years to tackle food
insecurity.
They
hope to cut the rate in half by 2030, which would mean two million Canadians
would no longer be challenged by food insecurity.
The
company is donating $10 million to launch the Maple Leaf Centre for Action on
Food Insecurity; McCain is adding $2.5 of his own money for an endowment fund
for the non-profit centre.
The
company is also going to donate at least $1.5 million worth of food per year.
The centre
will focus its attention on advocacy, innovation and learning.
“The
Centre and Maple Leaf will support, engage and advocate for important policies
that advance sustainable food security,” the company said in a news release.
“The
Innovation Fund will invest in innovative food security initiatives based on
dignity, empowerment and skill building that can potentially be scaled to
increase their impact.”
It is
estimated that one in six children and 4,000,000 Canadians face food
insecurity, lacking stable access to affordable, nutritious and culturally-appropriate
food.
"In
a country of such wealth and abundance, it is a national shame that one out of
every six children and four million people in Canada face food
insecurity," said Michael McCain, who will be chairman of the centre.
"The
Centre is the culmination of several years of stakeholder engagement to
understand this complex issue and where Maple Leaf should direct our resources
– people, products and financial – to make the greatest difference,” he said.
“It
reflects a significant, sustained commitment to lend our voice, to advocate for
change, and to invest in innovation that results in demonstrable
improvements."
The company
has picked the following people for the centre’s board of directors:
Professor Evan Fraser, director of
the University of Guelph Food Institute and the Canada Research Chair in Global
Food Security;
Beth Hunter, Program Director at the J.W.
McConnell Family Foundation, leading the Sustainable Food Systems initiative;
Professor
Mustafa Koç, Professor of Sociology at Ryerson University, one of the founders
of the Centre for Studies in Food Security, Food Secure Canada, and the
Canadian Association for Food Studies;
Curtis Frank, senior vice-president
for retail sales at Maple Leaf Foods;
Ms.
Lynda Kuhn, senior vice-president for Sustainability and Public Affairs at
Maple Leaf Foods, and
Rory
McAlpine, senior vice president for Government and Industry Relations at
Maple Leaf Foods.
The
company says that despite bold and innovative work by some, food insecurity has
persisted for the last decade and in some cases, such as Nunavut, has “substantially
worsened” leaving almost half of households food insecure.
‘Results
from a recent national survey show that more than 60 per cent of Canadians do
not understand the meaning of "food insecurity" and fewer than one in
five of Canadians are aware of the extent of the issue in this country,” the
company says.
‘Impacting
12.5 per cent of the Canadian population, food insecurity is a pervasive and
pressing national issue.
‘One
in eight households face food insecurity and the prevalence is far greater in
northern communities and among disadvantaged populations.
‘Income
level is by far the strongest predictor of food security.”
