Local health unit releases final video on top-five issues affecting residents today

By Lee Griffi

Southwestern Public Health has concluded its multi-year Vital Perspectives series by highlighting a key issue affecting many people in the region – the health impact of household food insecurity. 

The YouTube video series draws on insights from public-health staff, community partners and individuals with lived experience. This final installment centres on food insecurity being driven by inadequate income, not a lack of access to food. 

“We decided to do the series to deepen the understanding of complex public-health issues,” said Marcia Van Wylie, manager of chronic disease and injury prevention. “We did it by highlighting local experiences of individuals and public-health professionals and then linking those stories to the factors that impact health.”

According to local data, more than one in five households (21.3 per cent) in Oxford County, Elgin County and the City of St. Thomas experienced food insecurity in 2023-2024. This reflects a significant and ongoing challenge tied not to food availability, but to income that falls short of covering basic needs. Household food insecurity is also associated with worse mental health, higher rates of disease and injuries, greater health-care utilization and premature mortality. 

“Food insecurity is often mistaken for a nutrition or budgeting problem, but the root cause is income that is not able to keep up with average food prices that continue to rise,” Van Wylie said. “Addressing food insecurity requires solutions that focus on income stability and affordability, ensuring individuals and families have the resources they need to access nutritious food and maintain their health. Meaningful change must focus on aligning income with the true cost of living.”  

The episode features Liz Windover, a member of the Elgin-St. Thomas Coalition to End Poverty.

“My basics, bread or buns for the lunches, lunch meat and all those perishable things in the last couple have years have doubled (in price). My income isn’t any different and not just mine, but most people’s income hasn’t double in the last two years,” said Windover.

The video on food insecurity is the final of a fourpart storytelling series that began in 2023 to shed light on misunderstood public-health topics impacting communities. The other topics are as follows:

• The Opioid Crisis – Explores the local impacts of substance use, centring on lived experience and the importance of compassionate, communitybased responses. 

• Climate Change and Health – Examines how a changing climate affects physical and mental health, particularly for people most vulnerable to environmental risks. 

• Youth Belonging – Highlights how social connection, inclusion and a sense of belonging are essential for mental wellbeing and overall health. 

Van Wylie said the goal of the series is to shift how people think about these issues, encourage a collaborative and informed approach towards finding solutions to support healthier and more equitable communities.

“By sharing diverse experiences and perspectives we aim to foster empathy, reduce stigma and spark meaningful conversations about the root causes to inform local action.”

She added having local people with lived experience share their stories as part of the series was important for these messages to hit home.

“We did that to show there are people experiencing these challenges and they have a significant impact on health and wellbeing,” Van Wylie said.

One of those people is Patrick McMahon, owner of The Mill restaurant in Tillsonburg, who told his addiction story in the video on the drug crisis facing society today.

“Alcohol, pot, just sort of whatever was available, then I started using it intravenously. Within a year, I was bottom,” he said. “People see this very sick person at the side of the road and they think that’s a drug addict. That’s a drug addict at the bottom with no help up.”

He explained the way addicts are treated needs to change.

“At some of the rehabilitation centres in Ontario, you’re treated like an inmate. You have to cook, you have to clean your toilet. If you had cancer, you would never have to go to the hospital and do these things. There’s no dignity right now. I think lining up at a methadone clinic in downtown Woodstock. … There’s no dignity, there’s so much shame involved with that.”

Public health’s mandate has changed as societal issues have worsened, including being able to afford healthy food as opposed to informing people what the best choices were.

“In the past, the conversation was about accessing food and eating healthy foods,” said Van Wylie. “Now we know it’s important to look at the root causes like income and income stability as it relates to meeting basic needs.”

“The Vital Perspectives series gives our community a deeper understanding of the structural factors that shape public health,” added Cynthia St. John, Southwestern Public Health CEO. “It’s clear that meaningful progress is possible when communities, partners and policy makers work together, and that is the foundation of our work in public health.”  

All four videos are available on the health unit’s YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/@SouthwesternPublicHealth.