TORONTO – On Monday, November 15, anti-poverty activists from across Ontario will rally at the Wychwood Barns in Toronto. The activists aim to highlight the continued struggle of low-income Ontarians to access healthy food, and the recent organizing efforts of the campaign to Put Food in the Budget to keep the issue of income security on the table heading into the provincial election next fall.
Fred Hahn, president of CUPE Ontario and Archbishop Colin Johnson, Anglican Diocese of Toronto, both of whom recently participated in the Do the Math Challenge in October will speak at the rally. They will be joined by Amarpreet Kaur from the Registered Nurses Association, Tracy Mead from the Health and Strength Action Group, and Avvy Go from The Colour of Poverty. Music will be performed by Bill King and Stacey Bulmer.
In the last year, several high-profile Torontonians (including Naomi Klein and musician Damian Abraham), as well as one thousand political, faith and business leaders across other communities in Ontario, took the Do the Math Challenge, sparking innumerable conversations about this important issue and urging the McGuinty government to take action.
Where: The Artscape Wychwood Barns, 601 Christie St. (at St. Clair)
When: Monday, November 15, 7 p.m.
Media Contact:
Mike Balkwill, Provincial Campaign Organizer, 416-806-2401, mbalkwill@iasc.on.ca
About the Put Food in the Budget campaign
Thirty communities across Ontario – from Windsor to Cornwall and from Toronto to Thunder Bay are part of the Put Food in the Budget campaign. The campaign is sponsored by the Social Planning Network of Ontario and The Stop Community Food Centre and is supported by ACTRA Toronto; Anglican Diocese of Toronto; Association of Ontario Health Centres; Colour of Poverty; CUPE Ontario; OPSEU; Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario; and the Schizophrenia Society of Ontario.
About the Do The Math Challenge
Do the Mathis an interactive website launched by The Stop Community Food Centre to draw attention to the impossible budgeting choices faced by social assistance recipients in Ontario. The recent Do the Math Challenge - part of the campaign to Put Food in the Budget - asks everyday Ontarians to try to survive on a food bank hamper to draw attention to the chronic food insecurity faced by social assistance recipients in our province.