Michelle's blog

HungerCount 2010, an annual national study recently released by Food Banks Canada, shows that food bank use in Canada has been on the rise. As reported by the CBC news, food bank use across Canada has hit its highest level since 1997. According to Katharine Schmidt, executive director of Food Banks Canada, "This is a reality check. Food banks are seeing first hand that the recession is not over for a large number of Canadians."

Last week I had the opportunity to attend Make Poverty History's presentation to the Standing Committee on Finance.  The committee is holding its pre-budget consultations. Make Poverty History presented to members of the committee and submitted a brief containing five recommendations for the Federal 2011 budget.  Make Poverty History's brief to the committee can be found here.

Last week I had the opportunity to attend Make Poverty History's presentation to the Standing Committee on Finance. The committee is holding its pre-budget consultations. Make Poverty History presented to members of the committee and submitted a brief containing five recommendations for the Federal 2011 budget. Make Poverty History's brief to the committee can be found here.

As a new intern, it's been a great experience working with Make Poverty History. I was particularly inspired working on Stand Up and seeing all the creative ways people across Canada and around the world organized to send the message that we want to see our leaders work to eradicate poverty. That's why I was rather disappointed with the federal government's official reponse to a groundbreaking Senate report that put forth a series of recommendations “designed to lift Canadians out of poverty.”