Food Banks and the Welfare Crisis
(by Graham Riches, 1986, 194 pp., #105, out of print)
OUT OF PRINT
Should we abolish food banks? The question raises important issues that may appear to be
straightforward but are, in fact, quite complex. Why have food banks been established in so many
communities across Canada? Why have they become involved in feeding hundreds of thousands of
Canadian citizens?
In this book, author Graham Riches documents the proliferation of
emergency food services in Canada. He argues that food banks represent more than an upsurge of
charity in tough times they are signposts of the collapse of the social safety net. He points the
finger squarely at governments' neglect of their social obligations under federal legislation and
international conventions, and he laments many food banks' reluctance to take a stand against
inadequate social assistance benefits. While food banks receive corporate donations and
government grants, corporate interests perpetuate a wasteful food marketing system and
governments cut cash benefits.
By showing such contradictions in social policy, Riches challenges head-on popular notions about
hunger, poverty, and the adequacy of the welfare system in Canada.
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