Seniors In Vancouver’s Chinatown Are Battling Poverty And Racism To Put Food On The Table
Macleans reports that Gui Rong Ni, 72, Ya Qin Wan, 79, and Yu Ying Guan, 83, were produce farmers by trade. They once played a crucial role in China’s food system. After moving to Canada in the 2010s, they are now among the 12.6 per cent of seniors in B.C. reliant on public pensions who are food insecure. While old age security helps cover their monthly rent and bills, there’s next to no money left for food. As a result, they count on food banks, charity meals and other programs run by youth-led grassroots initiatives for nourishment.
Only 2.4 per cent of older Canadians are estimated to be moderately or severely food insecure, according to a 2020 study led by researchers at McMaster University in Hamilton, a proportion lower than the 14.6 per cent of the general population reported as food insecure by Statistics Canada in May 2020.
