March is Nutrition Month, and this year, food insecurity among seniors is one of the topics that the Little Brothers wish to address. To do this, they are launching a project against food insecurity in collaboration with local institutions and organizations. This initiative is part of the continuity of the support of the Little Brothers who watch over the well-being of isolated seniors.
Numbers that speak
One in four seniors do not eat three meals a day and find it difficult to get affordable food. This is what a survey carried out in the fall of 2022 reveals to us among 280 people aged 75 and over, living on the Island of Montreal and in Longueuil and being accompanied by the Little Brother organization.
According to the INSPQ: “at the start of the pandemic, in April 2020, the percentage of Quebec adults living in a food insecure household would have reached 26%. In comparison, in 2015-16 it was 11%. This reality is particularly marked among single people.
For Joanne Parmenter, Territory Director for the Little Brothers of Greater Montreall, these alarming figures highlight the need to act quickly and collectively:“With inflation and the rise in the price of essential products, more and more seniors around us do not have enough to eat. We feel that people and organizations are sensitive to this sad reality and want to help. Now, we need to network and rally around initiatives that meet the specific needs of elderly people in a sustainable way. »
To fully understand this problem in order to better respond to it, the Little Brothers is working on a new intervention project alongside major partners, such as the City of Montreal, the Regional Public Health Department (DRSP) and the Center of research from the University of Sherbrooke.
Visit the Useful Resources section of our Documentation Center to download the awareness sheets.
About the project
Led across Quebec by Little Brothers, the project has 5 components: inform, identify, support, consolidate inter-network links and prevent food insecurity and malnutrition among seniors. Its objective is to educate as many people as possible to recognize the warning signs leading to food insecurity, in order to better put an end to it. Here are the main stages of the project:
- Creation of an advisory committee bringing together experts in the field, including Paule Lebel, doctor specializing in public health and preventive medicine at the Regional Public Health Department (DRSP) in Montreal and Nancy Presse, dietitian-nutritionist and professor at the University from Sherbrooke;
- Collection of data from seniors supported by Little Brothers through a survey developed and analyzed by the Regional Public Health Department (DRSP) to provide an overview of the situation;
- Development of an awareness kit made up of simple, practical and easily adaptable tools that offer resources adapted to all regions of Quebec;
- Information sessions on the subject with volunteers and team members of the Little Brothers in collaboration with the University of Sherbrooke;
- Promote the sharing of information, partnerships and the implementation of concerted actions to fight against food insecurity at the provincial level.
For more details, contact Noëmie Brisebois, Special Projects Manager, National Programs and Innovation, at the following address nbrisebois@littlebrothers.ca.
