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United Way

Impact of your Gift

Fall 2011

Home grown - food security in the Lower Mainland

Judging from the smiles on people's face the Frog Hollow Neighbourhood House community garden is growing more than just vegetables. "We have become so private in our lives, gardening helps open the door," says Katherine, a long-time volunteer with the garden. Along with building friendships, the garden is helping to feed East Vancouver families. And home-grown food like the kind produced here is becoming increasingly important to food security in our region. In September 2011, Statistics Canada reported prices for basic food purchases increased by 4.4% over the previous year with the cost of fresh vegetables also rising during the same period. In the Lower Mainland, we rely on food from the United States, Mexico and beyond to meet our needs. Transportation costs and weather, among other factors, mean our food sources can be unreliable and more costly. High cost of hunger About 12% of BC children - 100,000 - live in poverty. This means low or fixed income families are facing significant challenges when it comes to feeding their children. And when families struggle to provide wholesome food, children can go to school hungry or undernourished. Their attention spans, problem-solving skills, energy levels and behaviour are all affected leaving them at a disadvantage. Special thanks to Coast Paper for its support of this publication. Because health and wellbeing start where we live, learn and play,

United Way

of the Lower Mainland works to tackle social conditions like poverty that make us more vulnerable. A healthy community helps prevent problems ranging from crime and poor achievement in school to chronic disease. That's why

United Way

works to support food security and food security policies in Metro Vancouver. We fund community kitchens, food-box programs and community gardens like the ones at Frog Hollow and Clinton Park, both part of the Frog Hollow community garden program. ...cont'd on page 2

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