Food Insecurity Remains a Serious Challenge During COVID-19 Federal government needs a social innovation strategy for long-lasting solutions. By Nancy Neamtan The numbers are devastating. Almost one in seven Canadians (14.6 per cent) reported they live in a household where they’ve experienced food insecurity over the past 30 days, according to the Statistics Canada survey conducted May 4-May 10, 2020, during the first wave of the pandemic. Those living in households with children were more likely to be worried about food running out before there was money to buy more. Affordable and easy access to healthy food is not a new challenge for Canada. It only took a global pandemic to shine a spotlight on the millions of Canadians who lack access to quality, affordable food.