The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

w w w . o a kv ill eb ea ve r.c o m O A KV IL LE B EA V ER Fr id ay , N ov em be r 2 6, 2 01 0 2 8 According to the NutritiousFood Basket (NFB) Surveyrecently released for Halton Region, approximately four per cent of households in Halton, or 19,200 residents, experience some degree of food insecurity. The NFB report shows that a basic nutritious diet for a family of four in Halton costs $168 a week. Many individuals and families on social assistance, disability support payments, old age security, or earn- ing minimum wage do not have adequate income to purchase nutri- tious food in our community. The NFB report makes it clear that while food banks provide a vital service, they are not a long term solution to the problem, as the root cause of food insecurity is poverty. According to the report, ways to improve access to nutritious food is through improving our social assis- tance program and minimum wage, establishing affordable housing policies, improving employment insurance coverage and benefits, and providing affordable child care. United Way of Oakville (UWO) is committed to investing and sup- porting agencies and services that make Oakville a more livable com- munity for us all. On Monday, Nov. 22, UWO par- ticipated in the Poverty Reduction Summit that was attended by more than 100 delegates, including busi- ness leaders, citizens with lived experience of poverty, social service agencies, and local politicians. This summit represented a step toward the community coming together to try to address issues of poverty in a real way that attempts to achieve long term solutions. Nobody chooses to live in pover- ty. Circumstances beyond a persons control can catapult them into a life of poverty. United Way of Oakville will con- tinue to work with community part- ners to help address issues sur- rounding poverty in Halton. For information, call 905-845- 5571. To donate online, visit www.uwoakville.org/donate. Submitted by the United Way of Oakville No one chooses poverty