Freedom 90 commits to raising its voice to demand an end
to poverty and an end
to the need for food banks and emergency meal programs in
Ontario. |
| October 12, 2012 |
| You Tube - Project Video - Hamilton, Ontario |
| Unequal Access to Healthy Food |
 Transcript: With the amount that OW [Ontario Works] gives you for basic necessities, it doesn't cover basic necessities at all.
The fact that you can't eat healthy is ultimately going to lead to illness ... period. I mean there's no two ways about it. People in poverty are sick ... a lot more than the general population.
The fact that you're spending so much time scavenging for food eats into the time that should be productively used to find a job or, you know, something that makes you feel better, better mentally and contributing something to society rather than falling deeper into the poverty pit.
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| Watch the video here |
| April 19, 2013 |
| Toronto Star - Joe Fiorito, Columnist |
| Dim or brighter prospects for welfare reform? |
 Ted McMeekin is not a flashy man; he was, at one time, the minister of agriculture in Ontario. But he has a pretty good understanding of social issues, and he is a committed volunteer, and now he is the minister of community and social services.
It is in this latter capacity that he came to make some closing remarks at a recent conference on welfare reform, held in Oakville.
McMeekin took the podium to a smattering of polite applause, but before he had a chance to say how happy he was to be there, someone in the audience yelled at him: "Reject austerity."
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| Read the full article at The Star website |
| April 21, 2013 |
| Times Colonist - Victoria, BC - Letter to the editor |
| Food security should be a basic right |
| It's time for food banks to pump up the volume and start challenging the community to do something more significant than donating a few tins of canned fish whenever the shelves are bare. They should be joining with those voices who want to build a more inclusive community, one that will give all citizens access to affordable housing, nutritious food and appropriate medical care.
Building bigger, more efficient food banks may temporarily feed more hungry people, but they won't end hunger and they won't prevent the users of this system from feeling like second-class citizens in a first-class world.
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| Read the full letter at the Times Colonist website |
| April 26, 2013 |
| This gives me hope - Cathryn Wellner's search for 1001 reasons to be optimistic |
| Freedom 90 dreams of closing food banks |
 Volunteers at food banks and meal programs earn their angel wings. They beat the bushes for funds, do a loaves-and-fishes routine with scarce resources, and keep hunger at bay for thousands.
And they get tired. Not of the work but of the grinding poverty that keeps so many showing up month after month and constantly sends new people through their doors. So volunteers in Ontario have formed a union. They call it the Freedom 90 Union "because we want to retire from volunteering at food banks or emergency meal programs - before we are 90 years old!"
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| Read the full article at Cathryn Wellner's blog |
| May 1, 2013 |
| Newmarket Era - Teresa Latchford |
| United Way leads brainstorm session |
| If you are willing to take a leadership role to strengthen the social infastructure in Newmarket, the United Way is there for support.
A group of residents, volunteers, organization representatives and politicians shared ideas at the Newmarket Community Centre and Lions Hall during the second meeting house hosted by United Way York Region.
The event built on the first meeting, in January 2012, which was at the Newmarket Public Library. More than 60 people gathered to talk about issues facing the community, including access to affordable housing, transportation barriers, education and employment.
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| Read the full article at yorkregion.com |
Freedom 90 needs help with printing, mailing and all the other costs associated with carrying on a province-wide effort. You can make a donation by clicking on the Canada Helps logo. |
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Freedom 90
c/o York Region Food Network
350 Industrial Parkway South
Aurora ON L4G 3V7
Join us!
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