A new study finds that kids who don’t have access to affordable, healthy food could end up needing medical care more often for mental health and substance use issues.
Toronto resident Rhonda Miller knows how difficult it can be to afford the basic necessities. The 52-year-old lives in an apartment with her daughter and two granddaughters, who are nine and six. Rising rent and food prices mean Miller has to sometimes choose between paying her bills or buying groceries. “I leave the bills until I can afford it, because I have to get the food,” she told CBC News. The Millers rely on social assistance and income from some part-time work, but they say it’s not enough to keep pace with the rising cost of living. “It’s really difficult because sometimes the food, what I want [my grandchildren] to eat, I can’t afford it, because the budget,” said Miller, noting she worries about the impact on their health. Rhonda Miller, 52, says the family relies on her social assistance paycheque of $900 a month. But with the rising cost of rent and groceries, Miller says they sometimes don’t have enough money left over to afford adequate food. She worries about the health impact on her grandchildren. (Melanie Glanz/CBC) A new study published Monday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) highlights the clinical impact a lack of access to…