Mike Balkwill, a guest speaker from the provincial Put Food in the Budget campaign, spoke at the Poverty Round Table on Wednesday. Photo: Michael J Brethour
Thirty members of Quinte’s Poverty Roundtable gathered Wednesday afternoon to listen to Mike Balkwill speak about poverty and food insecurities.
Balkwill, a guest speaker from the provincial Put Food in the Budget campaign, spoke for over 40 minutes about a range of topics including social assistance, food insecurity, the upper one percentile and the necessity of Food Banks.
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Specifically Balkwill directly challenged the need for food banks, stating that those in need would be able to benefit and improve their circumstances with an increased income.
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Suzanne Quinlan, executive director of Gleaners Food Bank, took exception to some of Balkwill’s statements regarding Food Banks specifically about the organizations just handing out food.
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Quinlan did agree with Balkwill’s statement that poverty and food insecurity can not be beaten by food banks alone. She also conceded the criticism Balkwill expressed towards qualifications for clients of food banks, noting that she intends to question the Gleaners Board about removing those qualifications.
To learn more about the Poverty Roundtable Hastings Prince Edward, visit www.povertyroundtablehpe.ca.
