Our Impact

Unhealthy eating costs Canada $13.8 billion each year and food insecurity continues to grow making preventative health investments a huge opportunity for systems change. By leveraging health care resources and shifting investment from bandaid approaches to upstream solutions, we can improve nutrition and access to fresh, cultural, local, and sustainable foods so that everyone wins.

Food is a key social determinant of health and a powerful opportunity to improve health equity and support reconciliation in Canada. By addressing upstream health issues like food insecurity, we can apply the power of food to support a more preventative and equitable health care system. In Canada, 18.4% of people are impacted by food insecurity, and one in four are children. Indigenous households experience food insecurity rates two to six times higher than the national average. Food insecurity has numerous consequences on health including malnourishment, obesity, and chronic conditions such as cardiac disease, cancer, and diabetes.

Health inequity costs us all. Enabling access to nutritious and culturally mindful or traditional foods is an affordable preventative solution.

The Canadian health care sector contributes 5.2% of the national carbon footprint. Globally, 71% of health care’s carbon footprint from goods and services production, transport, and disposal. Reducing food-related emissions and waste in health care can significantly cut emissions and better protect water, soil and reduce deforestation.

Climate change impacts health and widens disparities in marginalised communities. Health care’s leadership is crucial in addressing the climate crisis. Changing hospital menus and procurement can decarbonize supply chains and support Indigenous food systems to flourish.

Sustainable diets in health care can shift population habits, reducing disease, costs, and emissions. U.S. research shows that moving half of dietary calories to plant-based foods could meet 23% of Climate Action Plan goals.