Farmers’ Market Nutrition Coupon Program Receives Million Dollar Boost
Prince George, B.C. – Good news for about 10,000 low income families in British Columbia.
The provincial government announced $1 million towards the Farmer’s Market Nutrition Coupon program today.
The initiative helps lower-income families, seniors and pregnant women continue to have easier access to healthy foods.
The Ministry of Health says each week program participants receive $15 worth of coupons that can be used at one of the 63 participating markets throughout B.C.
The coupons are used like cash to purchase locally grown fruit, vegetables, meat, fish, eggs, dairy, nuts and herbs.
Additionally, participants are able to access free nutrition and skills-building programs that teach them how to use these foods in their everyday diet.
Including the million dollars announced today, the Province has made $5.75 million available to support this program since 2012.
“Making healthy food choices goes a long way to increasing quality of life and avoiding chronic illness,” said Health Minister Terry Lake. “The Farmers’ Market Nutrition Coupon program makes it easier for those who need help to access and afford fresh foods, and supports them in making nutritious choices that contribute to a stronger, healthier British Columbia.”
The program runs for 16 weeks, from June through this October, and is administered by the BC Association of Farmers’ Markets.
In 2016 the program is operating in 52 communities across the province, including in Prince George at the Prince George Farmers’ Market on 6th Avenue.
Click here for more information about the program.
Comments
A great idea, that deserves to be funded annually. Prince George having a population the size if Vanderhoof using food banks every month, it is obvious this kind of initiative is needed.
Too bad this Christy Clark government only cares about families during pre-election years, oh well at least this million dollar boost to the program will happen once every four years.
Really JGalt? What part of “Including the million dollars announced today, the Province has made $5.75 million available to support this program since 2012.” Seems to me it has been at least a million per year, not just an election year.
Touche 2fargone, a comment I made that I would like to take back, so if the site moderator could kindly remove it I would appreciate it. But please leave the comment I just made under the Canfor breakfast story, it’s a damn good one!!!
Nothing disappears from the internet, especially something thst shows how distorted your view really is. The post might even pop up again once or twice before next May.
Only jgalt or sofie sage or nearly human or peeps would find fault in providing healthly local food to those in need.
As for the Canfor post try coming out of the basement once in a while and seeing all the things they are involved with in town. They contribute to tons of sporting events, cultural events, fireworks displays,etc and even have a theatre at UNBC that proudly displaying their name.
Thanks Canfor and keep up the good work!
Also Peter Bentley’s daughter Barbara volunteered countless hours as head of the Variety Club childrens telethonover many years and is still involved though no longer as chair. And you peeps?
Someone is wearing their panties a little tight today, relax “lonesome” sparrow ever make a comment that in hindsight you wish you hadn’t made? Of course you have. As for my anonymity, I used someone else’s email address to set this account up, and I also use a proxy server located out of the USA.
When I log in all my comments will be traced to an Internet server located in the United States… after all, you never can be too careful on the Internet. Now relax, open your throat and pour some wine down it, that should put you in a better mood.
‘kay Peeps ….say hi to Don….
LOL, nice isn’t it? Everything I post can be attributed to him. I like the fact that no one knows who I am unless they can catch me in the act… the freedom is refreshing, now run along Rum Dog.
Okay Peeps…. you and your 5 or 6 aliases have a sweet night.
And to you as well Rummy. ;-)
Such a great program for low income families. We also need to educate the downside to shopping for food at convenience stores. Too many low income people make the mistake of spending more for items that can be found for much less money.
my question after clicking the link about this program–how do you find out if you qualify for this? Income level? I don’t see any REAL info.
Good point ntkr14, it would require some form of income testing to determine need, but corporations operated governments know little about how social programs operate, ort should operate.
Actually you need to look at the Farmers Market Nutrition Program to get all the information you need.
Seems you have to register with a food literacy program, which then qualifies you for the coupons. There are various groups that run this program like the Native Friendship Centre, and Elizabeth Fry Society, plus many others.
If in fact there were 10,000 low income families that were eligible for this program, then you would need $2,400,000.00 annually to fund it. Ie; 10,000 families times $15.00 for a coupon for sixteen weeks.
My guess is that there are a lot less people actually using the program.
Having said that I think that the program itself is good for those who use it, and for the Farmers Markets that participate.
Palopu states; “If in fact there were 10,000 low income families that were eligible for this program…”
Are you really that clueless? They are taking about 10,000 people for the entire province, yet in Prince George alone; ““We have about 1500 families in Prince George each month who rely on the food bank” says Glasgow. That translates to about 4300 people says Glasgow “The sad statistic on that is that about 43% of those using the food bank are under the age of 16.”
www .250news.com/2016/05/11/food-drive-collects-more-than-2-tons/
Imagine that, nearly 4,300 people in Prince George alone use the food bank each month, almost half of those are kids under 16 years of age! I think most of us independent thinkers realize the funding for this program is indeed completely inadequate!
This story is nice PR for the Christy Clark government leading up to an election though!
JGalt, I was just wondering if your head will explode when Christy wins the next election!
“BOOM”!
Probably won’t explode just be overcome with immense despair over the incredible gullibility of the majority of the electorate.
Yes, the electorate are ‘gullible’. Many can’t see the difference between socialism in low gear under Christy, or in high gear under Horgan.
Others can, and opt for what they believe will be the lesser evil. Trying to buy some time in the hopes that someone else will appear on the ‘right’ with an alternative that is, well, right. Will it happen? Who can say?
Considering people as people I seriously doubt those on the ‘right’ side of the political spectrum are any less concerned about issues like child poverty, or poverty in general for that matter, than are those on the ‘left’, despite the latter’s constant vocalisation about it.
The simple fact of the matter is NEITHER side currently has a credible answer to eliminating it, and the ‘left’ sees itself as being better positioned to simply represent it. Which means, if it wants to form and maintain government, retaining its core constituency, (if not enhancing it.)
Hartly 2, the incredible gullibility of the majority of the electorate?
So, that’s how Justin got elected!
Thanks for clearing that up!
While we were out with friends having a nice leisurely meal it looks like peeps spent the evening in a dimly lit basement stomping out a new batch of whine. Hardly had a spare second to jump from thread to tend to the thumbs, pumping his posts with up and hitting the down button on anyone who dares to say something counter to his narrow mind, delete or eat cookie,repeat.
One point I do agree on is that it is good PR for the government, showing that through their entire term they have spent a million and a half a year to make local healthy food available to the less fortunate people in the province. Way to go Christy & Co!
Hartly….were you wistfully remembering the last dipper government when we were going cap in hand to Ottawa to ask for equalization payments….please sir, can I have some more?
“Hartly….were you wistfully remembering the last dipper government when we were going cap in hand to Ottawa to ask for equalization payments….please sir, can I have some more?”
———————————————————————The ‘dippers’ did indeed make a number of boneheaded initiatives when they were last in office, but that was one of the few GOOD things that came out of that era ~ we finally got some of OUR money BACK from Ottawa rather than just sending all of it eastward.
Good? In what sense? The transfer payments came our way because we were in dire straights. Would be like an individual saying “I”m sure glad that I am on EI or welfare so I get some of the money I paid in taxes back”
I for one would sooner be employed and paying tax.
But a great many weren’t employed in that era, Sparrow, nor paying tax. Nor could they have been, no matter who had been in office. We’d made the oft repeated mistake of pinning our hopes on capturing foreign markets for our products, at that time ones in east Asia. Which subsequently went into a financial meltdown. so, yes it was like, “… an individual saying “I”m sure glad that I am on EI or welfare so I get some of the money I paid in taxes back”. Or should there be some other reason why we paid all those things in the first place?
J Galt. The program is about the Province of BC. Not Prince George. The 10,000 low income families are a Provincial number and there are 52 communities operating across the Province.
So we go with the numbers put out there, however I don’t for one minute believe that all the low income families in the Province participate in this program.
Nor do I buy the numbers put out about the number of people using food banks.
In any event the program is good for those who use it, and good for the Farmers Market.
As for being clueless. I suggest that you are the king when it comes to clueless.
Palopu states; “Nor do I buy the numbers put out about the number of people using food banks.” Of course not, you are a Conservative to your core, when confronted with evidence contrary to your beliefs just ignore or discount that evidence!
Sometimes people hold a core belief that is very strong. When they are presented with evidence that works against that belief the new evidence cannot be accepted. It creates a feeling that is extremely uncomfortable, called cognitive dissonance. And because it is so important to protect the core belief, they will rationalize, ignore and even deny anything that doesn’t fit in with that core belief.
It’s been put on by Canfor and organizers say it’s simply a token of their appreciation for the support they’ve received locally. Canfor gives a token . Christy gives a $15 coupon . Giving a token and coupon while taking a fortune . Don’t it just give you a warm and fussy feeling ? Both should be ashamed of facilitating the highest child poverty in canada . Both of them are failing our society in an agregous way shamelessly .
How, pray tell, do you honestly believe Canfor and Christy are “….facilitating the highest child poverty rate in Canada”?
Would taxing Canfor out of business help eliminate child poverty?
I personally have no use whatsoever for Christy Clark and the Liberal Party, either the BC one or the Federal party. Which in my view are BOTH very clearly “Liberal” parties dominated by big city financial interests, and rotten to the core.
But I certainly wouldn’t lay blame for child poverty on her for failing to increase further the massive over-taxation we’re already ALL hit with here, both as individuals and as businesses. That’s only going to INCREASE poverty, not alleviate it.
“…. the massive over-taxation we’re already ALL hit with here”
Here are the provincial sales tax rates in Canada
AB 0%
SK 5%
BC 7%
MB 8%
NB 8%
NL 8%
ON 8%
PEI 9%
PQ 9.98%
NS 10%
NB 15%
BC looks like it is the third lowest at the moment. New Brunswick just increased their in July.
So, it seems as far as sales tax goes, BC is one of the least taxed provinces.
www .cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/b-c-has-highest-child-poverty-rate-in-canada-report-1.2440909
Its about our children!!!
gopg2015:-“So, it seems as far as sales tax goes, BC is one of the least taxed provinces.”
—————————————————————-
You make that sound like it’s something we should be ashamed of. Just like Gordo, when he was in office, making out as if it was almost sinful we had lower electricity rates here in BC than elsewhere in the world.
Modern taxation is highway robbery, gopg2015. It is way higher everywhere than what it should be, and would be, if governments actually did as they often say they do. Run their affairs “…just like any other business.”
If ‘any other business’ used the same method of accounting governments currently use they wouldn’t be in business very long.
Either the prices they’d have to charge would be so grossly excessive no one could buy off them, or their customers would have to borrow their way into bankruptcy to pay for anything they did.
Ataloss made a statement: “… facilitating the highest child poverty (BC) in Canada
In contrast, From the 2015 Child Poverty BC Report Card comes this statement based on CANSIM tables.
British Columbia once again had child and overall poverty rates above the Canadian average in 2013, according to taxfiler data.
20.4% of British Columbia’s children 0–17 years old lived below the
poverty line, representing one in five children in the province, as measured by Statistics Canada’s Low Income Measure (LIM) after income
taxes. This was the FIFTH-HIGHEST child poverty rate among Canadian
provinces, with 167,810 BC children living in poverty in 2013.
Who was higher?
MB= 29.0%
SK = 25.0%
NS = 22.5%
NB = 21.2%
BC = 20.4%
ON = 20.0%
NL = 18.7%
PEI = 18.2%
AB = 15.9%
PQ = 14.8%
CANADA = 19.0%
Waiting for 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, etc.
Will there be a change? Who knows.
I wish people would quote the source they get info from. Without that, the info is useless.
Regardless of the statistical position of BC in terms of poverty, shouldn’t the goal be to eliminate it and give all of us a measure of material economic security consistent with what can be physically provided, first as required, and then as desired?
It is completely inconceivable that poverty in BC, or in Canada as a whole, for that matter, is in any ways a physical necessity brought about by our inability to produce the actual wealth needed to eliminate it. This is not the case in many other regions of the world, where the actual means of production are either completely absent, woefully deficient, or are currently being destroyed or grossly mis-used. In those countries, if a few people have “too much” in the way of food, clothing, shelter, etc., many more others will indeed have “too little”. And a Robin Hood type solution may well be in order.
Such is not the case here. Here, poverty is purely a ‘financial’ construct. NOT, be it noted, primarily because some have “too much” money, (which very few, in fact, actually do ~ the rich, so called, do NOT as a rule keep their wealth in ‘money’ but in assets VALUED in ‘money’ ~ BIG difference). But rather because ‘money’ itself is chronically INSUFFICIENT in its totality relative to things that are valued in it.
Trying to re-distribute an ‘insufficiency’ is no solution whatsoever. If more people are sitting down at the supper table than were expected and the pie for dessert has to be cut smaller and smaller to give everyone piece, everyone might get a piece, alright. But they’ll ALL go away from the table still hungry, too. The solution is to bake a bigger pie. What stops us from doing that? Are we lacking the ingredients, the knowledge of how to do it, someone to do the cooking, etc.? Not at all. All those things exist in abundance. What’s lacking is using the ‘money’ system correctly, to indicate just how big a pie should be baked. That’s all there is to it.
www .cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/b-c-has-highest-child-poverty-rate-in-canada-report-1.2440909
It’s about our children!!!
Read the source …. your source is from the 2013 report which shows 2011 figures and mine is from the 2015 report which shows 2013 figures.
Do you always use dated sources if they tell the story the way you wish it told?
It is an old tactic…. sorry, does not work on me very well.
Learn how to do better internet literature searches, it might give you more credibility.
It is not about our children …. it is about you not keeping up with the times ….
Quebec has the lowest child poverty rate in Canada. It coincides with Quebec having the highest tax rate in Canada as well, in addition to Quebec being the most socialist province in Canada.
Still, in my opinion, anything above 0% is a child poverty rate that is too high.
Now, as far as the actual number of children in BC living below the poverty rate in BC it is actually lower than in the province of Quebec and far lower than those living in the province of Ontario.
If there is anyone who needs to decrease the plight of children in Canada, it is most certainly Ontario that has a greater urgency.
Quebec also about the highest debt/gdp ratio, just under 60% which is 4 or 5 times BC’s if memory serves, so those being helped today will be the same people who will be coughing up the dough in the future…along with their kids and grandkids… ad infinitum.
gopg would source gdp details but would rather head back outside and enjoy the day before the evening thunderstorms;)
Still above average for canada . Is that something to be proud of ? Perhaps if you included the territories we would shine even brighter than their crushing poverty that drives their children to commit suicide on mass . I’m sorry but the fact that these kinds of token coupon efforts occur in the face of what our society could achieve for me are repugnant . They are every bit as disgusting as the need for food banks .
I see you live in a utopian dream world. Even countries such as Switzerland have poor families and poor children.
They are voting on a guaranteed minimum income that would knock the socks off Canadians. I suggest that even that would allow some to fall by the wayside.
Again, I ask what are you actually doing to help actual people?
Are you a big brother/sister, for instance, for one or more poor children?
“Even countries such as Switzerland have poor families and poor children.
They are voting on a guaranteed minimum income that would knock the socks off Canadians. I suggest that even that would allow some to fall by the wayside.”
—————————————————————-
That measure, if it passes, will indeed ‘allow (more than)some to fall by the wayside’. It is simply another ‘re-distributist’ scheme funded by taxation of what’s already insufficient. ‘Money’ itself. It will do absolutely NOTHING towards enabling the fuller liquidation of ‘costs’ through ‘prices’, which is THE problem that needs to be faced when current ‘incomes’ distributed are only a PART, and an ever declining part, of ALL the ‘costs’ that flow through into ‘prices’ at the point of final retail in any modern, industrial, technologically advancing country which is continually displacing labor.
The vote failed.
” Perhaps if you included the territories we would shine even brighter than their crushing poverty that drives their children to commit suicide on mass .”
————————————————————————-
You seem to be making an generalised assumption not necessarily born out entirely by specific facts. A lot of what drives those kids to commit suicide might well be the incompatibility of the collectivist culture they were raised in with a culture based on individual initiative and enterprise. (To the decreasing extent we’re still allowing that.) In their culture no one can really materially ‘get ahead’, and so no one really has any incentive to try. They simply exist, often in boredom, for they’re discouraged culturally more from ever improving than they are encouraged. Such is not limited to aboriginal communities here, but also is seen in other ‘cradle-to-the-grave’ socialist oriented countries where substance abuse to relieve the monotony is also a major problem.
torontocas.ca/app/Uploads/edms2015/final3.pdf
Another take on child poverty … the urban poor
using 2013 (the latest) CANSIM tables
New Statistics Canada data shows that Toronto continues to have the highest child poverty rate amongst large cities in Canada.
In Toronto, 28.6% of children were living below the Low Income Measure After Tax (LIM-AT) in 2013.
Child poverty is next highest in Montreal (25.1%) and Winnipeg (24.2%).
Toronto also has the highest child poverty rate in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, followed by Hamilton (22.3%) and Peel (20.6%).
As reported in The Hidden Epidemic last year, children of colour, Indigenous children, children from single-parent or newcomer families, and children with disabilities are more likely to experience poverty in Toronto.
Individuals of non-European backgrounds are up to 3 times more likely to be living on low-incomes in Toronto.
The rate in Vancouver is 20% …. it is slightly higher than the provincial average, thus showing that the urban poor are leading the province.
Ottawa = 17%
Edmonton = 16% (no shining star)
Calgary = 14%
Quebec City = 9%
If people want to start to understand child poverty here in PG, they need to open their eyes a bit more of how it develops and in what kind of urban and rural environments it actually occurs.
In addition, it is not just a measure using dollars. When it comes to good upbringings of children, the lack of finances is not always the prime indicator. One has to look much deeper than that to see where the problems are which children encounter in their lives as a result of the family situations they find themselves in.
So, to the J.Galts of this site, it is about the children and their parents.
What work are you involved with to help them? Or are you just another one of those who disses a government when you can do something about it?
Remember those famous words…. ask not what the country can do for you …. ask what you can do for your country.
So, I am asking you what have you done and continue to do for your community???
Asked but never answered when under a previous name jgalt said the government should spend unlimited amount of money searching for drowning victims
“If you have such strong feeling on this matter what have you done to follow up? Become a founding member of the water search society or raised funds on their behalf? Lobbied your MLA to make the wearing of PFD mandatory to help prevent some of the deaths? Or simply flapped your virtual gums on forums like this one and call on someone(read government) to do something?”
Answer seeems to be “c” again.
You raise an interesting question. Whether ‘money’ should simply be a means of keeping track of what is physically possible, or whether it should be the determinant of what will be done.
A lot of money is spent trying to give people accused of some crime a fair trial.
A lot more was spent, as in the Pickton case, for instance, trying to prove the accused was guilty. Was it worth it?
If you were in a car accident and wrapped your vehicle around a power pole and the ambulance and firemen and everyone needed to extricate you and get you to hospital arrived would you want an accountant there, too?
A guy who says, just as the jaws of life have finally cut away almost as much metal as it takes to get you out, “That’s it boys, leave him, we’re over budget, the books will never balance if we go any further.”?
Governments, be it noted, have a unique power denied us as individuals. They are ‘self-financing’. They can, and do, actually create money. This puts them, incidentally, always on the opposite side of the ledger from the individual. HOW they do this is of supreme importance. For it is the difference between whether we’ll have increasing ‘prosperity’ or be ever burdened with increasing ‘inflation’. So far, we’ve unwittingly, (I hope), allowed them to induce the latter. Time we got it right, and brought in the former.
This one is from 2012, some one has to care about our children!
ht tp://bc.ctvnews.ca/b-c-has-2nd-worst-child-poverty-rate-in-canada-1.1047433
What work do we do ? We pay our taxes on almost everything we consume and use . Speaking myself I pay more than average dutifully . Then my government redistribute those taxes . WE take in way more than WE need to feed the hungry . I do not like to think of a child going to bed or school hungry while my government builds mega projects and gives multinational corporations giveaways . Cisaro asked that question a long time ago of Senators of Rome . Canada equals Rome ? Rome was famous for being able to feed its people . PG not so much . your second question is redundant don’t ya think ?
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