Seniors food security program in Kings County should be made Island-wide amid rising costs, Greens say

An Opposition MLA says a pilot program that would provide meals for seniors in need in Kings County should be made available all across P.E.I.

During the tabling of the budget last Thursday, the provincial government said it will be investing $250,000 on a pilot program to deliver reheatable meals to seniors experiencing food insecurity or in need of nutritious meals. The program will initially only run in Kings County.

But during question period on Tuesday, Green MLA Karla Bernard said the province is "beyond a pilot" at this point, and that P.E.I. should be providing supports for all seniors the same way it does for students through the pay-what-you-can school meal program. 

"We've established that a school food program is crucial in this province. If there's one thing we know about hungry children [is that] they have hungry parents, hungry grandparents," she said. 

"The Poverty Elimination Strategy Act, it states that by Jan. 1, 2025, that food insecurity among all Islanders will be reduced by 50 per cent. That is less than three years away.... How can you expect to reach these targets if food security programs aren't made Island-wide and permanent immediately?"

Bernard also questioned whether the government was restricting the pilot to Kings County for political reasons. 

The county predominantly voted for the Progressive Conservatives during the last provincial election.

"We know that food prices are drastically rising, and many of our Island elders are on fixed incomes and won't be able to cope with these increases," she said. 

"Question to the minister of social development and housing: For the seniors who don't live in districts represented by your government, how do you propose they cope with the rising cost of food?"

Premier Dennis King said the government chose Kings County for the pilot because a Montague community group approached them and asked for a partnership to help them feed seniors.

"Our intention would be to take it out across the province, Mr. Speaker, as soon as we possibly can," he said.

"I certainly don't think the people who stood up and contacted us to do this, Mr. Speaker, would care to think that this was some kind of political move, Mr. Speaker. And I think the suggestion otherwise is beneath this house."

Russ Noiles, president of the P.E.I. Senior Citizens' Federation, said there's definitely "great need" for that kind of support in Kings County.

"I'm in Lower Montague and I know around here I go by the food bank and it's always jammed on a Thursday," he said.