People First Radio – February 26, 2026People First Radio – February 26, 2026
People First Radio
Queen’s University professor Elaine Power talks about food insecurity as an income issue, questioning reliance on food banks and school food drives. The episode also highlights a children’s graphic novel that gently introduces young readers to hunger, dignity and care through a school food drive story.
0:00•27 Feb 2026
Why Hunger Isn’t Just About Food: Elaine Power on Food Insecurity and Kids
Episode Overview
- Food insecurity is primarily caused by inadequate income, not a lack of food, and charity can only ever be a short‑term stopgap.
- Food banks and school food drives may feel helpful and virtuous, but they can create a smokescreen that distracts from the need for stronger income supports and social policy.
- Using food banks often carries deep shame and a sense of failure, leading many food‑insecure households to avoid them even when they are struggling.
- Targeting income supports such as the Canada Child Benefit to the lowest‑income families could significantly reduce child food insecurity.
- Projects like the Shy Cat graphic novel aim to humanise food insecurity for children, opening space for honest conversations about hunger, dignity and care.
“The first time that the food insecure kid comes over and gobbles down three bananas at a time, and the protagonist thinks this is rude, and the mom says, no, rude is just hungry sometimes.”
How can talking about empty cupboards with kids lead to real change? People First Radio turns that big question over to Queen’s University professor and Hungry Stories Project member, Elaine Power, in a wide‑ranging chat about food insecurity in Canada. The conversation has a clear message: food insecurity isn’t a shortage of tins on a shelf, it’s a shortage of money in people’s pockets.
Power draws on three decades of research to explain how food banks, school food drives and community gardens can help in the moment, but don’t fix the underlying problem of low incomes, high housing costs and a weakened social safety net.
As she puts it, relying on food charity is “kind of like putting a band‑aid on a big gaping wound.” You’ll hear how the Hungry Stories Project is trying to reach children through a new graphic novel, *Shy Cat and the Stuff the Bus Challenge*, created by Diane Day and Amanda White. The book follows two young friends and a school food drive that comes with a prize pizza party, gently raising questions about who is hungry and why.
One scene Power highlights is when a boy devours three bananas and the mum quietly says, “rude is just hungry sometimes” – a simple line that hits hard. The episode also touches on the emotional weight of using food banks, the shame many people feel, and how few food‑insecure households actually seek that help.
Power talks about basic income, child benefits, and Canada’s obligation to the right to food, all while keeping the focus on human dignity rather than abstract policy talk. If you care about recovery, mental health, or just what it means to be a decent neighbour, this is a thoughtful look at hunger that asks you to rethink those cheerful food drive posters – and maybe what you’ll do next time you see one.
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