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FOOD INSECURITY IS A POLITICAL CHOICE – FEED NOVA SCOTIA’S RESPONSE TO BUDGET 2025

DARTMOUTH, NOVA SCOTIA – NOVEMBER 6, 2025 – This week marked the promise of a new federal budget, one that misses the mark on poverty and food insecurity in Canada.

Feed Nova Scotia, along with organizations across the food security sector, has previously called on the federal government to include a new benefit for low-income households meant to help off-set the rapidly increasing cost of groceries and other basic needs. The organization was deeply disheartened to see no answer to this call.

“There is little in this budget to counter the ever-escalating costs for essentials, including food,” says Sue Kelleher, Director of Community Partnerships, Innovation, and Advocacy at Feed Nova Scotia. “No commitment to expand desperately needed income supports, build a stronger safety net, or implement any sort of meaningful changes to help people afford to live.”

Given the impact of tariffs country-wide and renewed focuses on sovereignty, Feed Nova Scotia also expected to see commitments towards strengthening Canada’s food sovereignty, both through local food systems and Indigenous food sovereignty. There was further disappointment regarding the lack of meaningful income solutions in Budget 2025.

“Federal income supports offer up a patchwork of assistance that fails to bring recipients up to the poverty line,” says Kelleher. “It’s disappointing to see much needed change either not happen, or like in the case of EI expansion, only be a temporary measure.”

While Feed Nova Scotia was pleased to see that the budget included a nod to the National School Food Program, investment in affordable housing, and automatic tax filing for low-income households, it isn’t enough to lift the millions of Canadians living in poverty.

“In a country that sees more than 2 million food bank visits every month, a number that continues to rise every year, we expected to see more action to support struggling Canadians,” says Kelleher. “While we can acknowledge the good in Budget 2025, there’s little in it that will shift the needle on food insecurity. If things don’t change soon, I’m more than certain we will be in this exact spot, asking for the same things, this time next year.”

“Our neighbours are going hungry today. A budget that focuses on military defence and capital infrastructure isn’t going to change anything for them.”

About Feed Nova Scotia:

Feed Nova Scotia is one of 10 provincial food associations in Canada, representing over 130 member organizations across the province. Since 1984, Feed Nova Scotia has been focused on providing high quality, nutritious food to the member organizations, while focusing on creating change at the systemic level. This includes collaboration through grants and community partnerships that focus on food distribution efficiency, community farming education, and advocacy projects.

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For more information, please contact:
Kenya Plut

Communications Coordinator

communications@feednovascotia.ca

Feed Nova Scotia and the network of members are located in Mi’kma’ki, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq Peoples, and we acknowledge them as past, present, and future caretakers of this land. This territory is covered by the “Treaties of Peace and Friendship” which Mi’kmaq, Wəlastəkwiyik (Maliseet), and Passamaquoddy Peoples first signed with the British Crown in 1725. We are all Treaty people.

We acknowledge that African Nova Scotians have existed and persisted on the traditional land of the Mi’kmaq for more than 400 hundred years and their significant presence has contributed to the existence of Nova Scotia.

We are grateful to live and work in Mi’kma’ki.