It’s the holidays, and on your TV or radio you’re inevitably hit with ads telling you that this is the season of giving - it’s time to donate to a food drive. Conservative politicians, Liberal politicians, banks, broadcasters, grocery stores: they all are united in this message.With the promotion of food banks from virtually every institution and elected official in the country, you might conclude that they are the best solution to food insecurity.Except - they’re not. Food bank use in Canada is at an all-time high, and experts, community organizers, even staff at food banks say that the growing need just shows how our government has failed to address poverty and hold corporations to account.  In this episode: Kitty Raman Costa, Executive Director, Parkdale Community Food BankDr. Valerie Tarasuk, Principal Investigator at PROOF, University of Toronto.Jade Guthrie, Community Learning and Engagement Manager, FoodShareProfessor Dennis Raphael of York’s School of Health Policy and ManagementFurther reading: HungerCount 2022, Food Banks CanadaSupermarkets are hiking prices faster than necessary — and profiting from inflation, Star investigation suggests, by Marco Chown Oved, Toronto StarWhy are Canadians in need still forced to rely on food banks? By Jade Guthrie, rabble.caTake the money and run: how food banks became complicit with Walmart Canada’s hunger producing employment practices, by Zsofia Mendly-Zambo, Dennis Raphael and Alan TamanSponsors: Rakuten, Oxio, Freshbooks, ArticleIf you value this podcast, please support us. We rely on listeners like you paying for journalism. As a supporter, you’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on Canadaland merch, invites and tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis and you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody. Come join us now https://canadaland.com/joinYou can listen ad-free on Amazon Music—included with Prime. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.