Privilege, Poverty & The Holiday Season: A Reflection on our Work with Food Banks Canada

By: Christina Storfa

“Empowered’s collaboration with Food Banks Canada not only revealed the dire facts of poverty, of food and housing insecurity. It also revealed that poverty does not affect people indiscriminately and equally.”

We recently took our daughters to buy a Christmas tree. My 18-month-old didn’t care much for

it. Mostly, she wanted to inspect and touch all the festive lights on display. It was raining and my

greatest concern was to keep her from electrocuting herself.

However, my four-year-old couldn’t have been more excited. She had been asking us for a tree for weeks now, always wondering “Is it Christmas yet?”. As soon as we arrived, she ran off scouting out the place for the biggest Christmas tree. It was not long until we heard her calling for us. She had found the “biggest tree in the world.” Santa, she assured us, would be so happy when leaving her presents by the tree.

Christmas is a magical time for my oldest. It is filled with innocence, anticipation, and joy.

But magic isn’t for free, much less during Christmas. It is not something everyone gets to experience. There is little magic for families and individuals living in poverty in Canada, moreso now than before the pandemic. Our recent work with Food Banks Canada revealed that a growing number of people are struggling to make ends meet. Skyrocketing housing costs, rising inflation and costs of living, global conflict and food shortages, and the Covid 19 pandemic have put almost half of the Canadian population in a precarious position.

For example, 42.6% feel worse off in 2023 than in 2022. 36.4% of the population pays more than 30% of their income on housing. 45.9% on government assistance can barely keep up with cost of living. And on average, 56.3% of income is spent on fixed costs beyond housing.

 Of course, this doesn’t just apply to those who happen to celebrate Christmas, whether religiously or as a secular practice, or to those who celebrate other religious and cultural events during the winter season. The coldest and darkest time of the year can push people who are already financially struggling into true despair.

They say that children’s currency isn’t money or “things,” it’s imagination. Yet, when I look at my carefree daughters in their warm winter coats looking for the perfect Christmas tree, I’m keenly aware that my ability to make Christmas magical for them is rooted in my privilege. Even the light of imagination is dimmed when tiny hands, feet, and tummies are cold, wet, and hungry.

Yet, this is not the end of the story. It is not just any privilege that allows me to “hold the magic” for them. It is my white privilege that has put my family at an “arbitrary’ advantage, one that has given us greater access to power, resources, and magic.

Let’s look at the facts for a moment. Empowered’s collaboration with Food Banks Canada not only revealed the dire facts of poverty, of food and housing insecurity. It also revealed that poverty does not affect people indiscriminately and equally. At its core, poverty is “produced and sustained by colonialism, racism, marginalization, sexism, heteronormativity, ableism, and many other forms of exclusion. The numbers don’t lie, and they tell us that First Nations people, Métis, Black people, racialized people, people with disabilities, single people, women, transgender people, immigrants, and refugees are most likely to experience and fall prey to poverty. They face barriers to decent and stable work (including a livable wage), affordable housing, social services, and health services. 

This doesn’t mean that poverty isn’t a reality for white people like me. It is and heartbreakingly so. Poverty is already like keeping your head above water. But poverty combined the burden of historic disadvantage is like doing it with an invisible backpack filled with heavy rocks. The issue is that not all groups carry those weights equally.  

As we move into the New Year, let’s work towards emptying those backpacks by dismantling the social norms, processes, policies, and legislations that have created and perpetuated social injustice.