A study of food security programs at Metro Vancouver Housing Corporation

Low-income British Columbians are unable to afford healthy food. Healthy diet and overall health and social outcomes are associated, making food insecurity a growing concern for affordable housing providers. Integration of food security programs into affordable housing are increasingly seen as a means of meeting the health and social needs of low-income households. Metro Vancouver Housing Corporation (MVHC) and BC Non-Profit Housing Association recently partnered to examine food security programming at selected MVHC sites. Three research objectives were realized through a mixed-methods approach: determine the impact of food programs on tenants' lives, including food security, health and wellbeing; identify barriers to food program use; and identify ways of improving food programs and policy directions based on the research findings.