Inequalities in food insecurity in Canada: The experience of youth, adults and older adults

Food insecurity occurs when at least one member of the household does not have the variety or quantity of food they need due to lack of money¹². Here, food insecurity includes moderate and severe food insecurity, as defined in the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS).

Large inequalities in food insecurity exist in Canada for a number of communities³.

Table 1 – Prevalence (%) of Food insecurity over the life course by Sex

	Girls/Women	Boys/Men (reference)
Youth (12 to 17 years)	13.2	13.5
Adults (18+ years)	9.0*	6.6
Older adults (65+ years)	3.9*	2.7

*: Significantly different from reference category

There are inequalities in food insecurity for youth and older adults related to living arrangement:

Prevalence of household food insecurity is:

• 2.8 times higher for youth living with a single parent, compared to youth living with both parents
• 3.0 times higher for single parents living with children, compared to couples without children
• 2.0 times higher for older adults living alone, compared to older adults in other living arrangements

Household education level is a strong determinant of food insecurity, for all age groups:

Compared to people living in a household with university level education, the proportion of people with food insecurity living in a household with a lower than high school education is:

• 5.0 times higher among youth
• 6.8 times higher among adults
• 3.2 times higher among older adults

Table 2 – Prevalence (%) of Food insecurity over the life course by Household education level

	Youth (12 to 17 years)	Adults (18+ years)	Older adults (65+ years)
Less than high school	30.9*	25.5*	5.2*
High school graduate	23.5*	13.6*	4.0*
Community college/Technical school/University certificate	17.3*	8.4*	3.1*
University graduate (reference)	6.2	3.8	1.6

*: Significantly different from reference category

Through the life course, the proportion of people experiencing food insecurity is higher among First Nations, Métis and especially Inuit communities, compared to non-Indigenous

Table 3 – Prevalence (%) of Food insecurity over the life course by Indigenous identity

	First Nations living off-reserve	Métis	Inuit	Non-Indigenous (reference)
Youth (12 to 17 years)	25.8*	25.6*	56.7*	12.4
Adults (18+ years)	21.8*	16.8*	44.5*	7.3
Older adults (65+ years)	11.0*	8.3* E	24.8* E	3.2

*: Significantly different from reference category
E: Interpret with caution

Inequities experienced by First Nations, Inuit and Métis populations are anchored in colonial policies and practices that began with Residential Schools, loss of cultural continuity, territories and languages. Unaddressed intergenerational trauma adds to the ongoing challenges faced by Indigenous peoples.

Remoteness:

Remoteness refers to an area’s geographic proximity to service centres and population centres⁴. In Canada, areas are considered:

• easily accessible
• accessible
• less accessible
• remote
• very remote

Across all ages, people living in ‘very remote areas’ are more likely to experience food insecurity, compared to those living in all other areas.

Compared to people living in easily accessible areas, the proportion of food insecurity for people living in very remote areas is:

• 2.7 times higher for youth
• 4.3 times higher for adults
• 5.1 times higher for older adults

Interventions aimed at the social determinants of food insecurity (for example, Universal Child Care Benefit, poverty reduction strategies, affordable housing) are promising solutions for reducing the overall prevalence and severity of food security, but also inequalities between Canadian populations¹.

Source: Canadian Community Health Survey 2015-16, 2017-18

For more data on health inequalities in Canada, visit: https://health-infobase.canada.ca/health-inequalities/data-tool/