Nearly a quarter of households in Chatham-Kent are currently facing food insecurity, according to new data from the local health unit.
Chatham-Kent Public Health has released a new report detailing the cost of food in the municipality, which highlights the growing crisis in the community.
According to the health officials, at least one in five households struggled to afford enough food in 2024. In 2025, that number rose to nearly one in four families who are now unable to buy the food they need.
In 2025, the average monthly cost to provide nutritious food for a family of four in Chatham-Kent was $1,201.81.
Public health officials said food insecurity can have serious consequences for adults and children who are living without consistent access to nutritious food.
While community organizations across Chatham-Kent provide important emergency food supports, the health unit said those services only offer temporary relief and do not resolve the underlying issue.
“If you go to the food bank, you’re only getting a couple of days’ worth of food… so emergency food assistance; I don’t think that’s much of a resolution. It’s there, it can help people. But it’s not much of a resolution,” said Dr. Shanker Nesathurai, CK’s Medical Officer of Health. “Something has to give on public policy if we’re going to make an impact on people who are experiencing food insecurity.”
Nesathurai added that this crisis is not driven by a lack of food, but by a lack of sufficient income for residents to meet basic needs.
Quoting a former philosophy professor, Dr. Nesathurai said, “How a society spends its public resources is a reflection of their moral choices.”
“From my mind, from a wealthy country, we can’t have people who don’t know where their next meal is coming from, who can’t afford the price of even basic groceries,” said Dr. Nesathurai.
On Monday, the Chatham-Kent Board of Health voted in favour of bringing a notice of motion to the next council meeting, asking members to write a letter in support of the federal government’s Senate Bill S-206, which would develop a national framework of a guaranteed livable basic income.