December 12, 2023
SHARE
The Backbench
#79 The Food Bank Industrial Complex
We’re bringing you a special episode from the Canadaland feed.  
Jesse Brown
Host & Publisher
Cherise Seucharan
Reporter, CANADALAND
Tristan Capacchione
Audio Editor & Technical Producer
Aviva Lessard
Producer
Noor Azrieh
Producer
Caleb Thompson
Audio Editor
Karyn Pugliese
Editor-in-Chief

It’s the holidays, and on your TV or radio you’re inevitably hit with ads telling you that this is the season of giving – it’s time to donate to a food drive. Conservative politicians, Liberal politicians, banks, broadcasters, grocery stores: they all are united in this message. With the promotion of food banks from virtually every institution and elected official in the country, you might conclude that they are the best solution to food insecurity. Except – they’re not. Food bank use in Canada is at an all-time high, and experts, community organizers, even staff at food banks say that the growing need just shows how our government has failed to address poverty and hold corporations to account.

 

Host:  Mattea Roach

Credits: Jesse Brown (Host & Publisher), Cherise Seucharan (Reporter), Tristan Capacchione (Audio and Technical Producer), Aviva Lessard (Producer), Noor Azrieh (Producer), Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), Annette Ejiofor (Managing Editor), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief)

 

Sponsors: oxio, Douglas 

 

If you value this podcast, Support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody. 

 

You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music—included with Prime.

More from this series
This week, host Mattea Roach asks the hard-hitting questions about mistakes the Liberals have made, and how they plan to fix it.
September 10, 2024
Harassment of MPs has risen around 800% in the past five years. One-off threats can so easily turn to real violence. Many leaders are calling it quits — saying it’s just too much.
August 27, 2024
Pierre Poilievre isn’t just on the campaign trail, he’s pounding the pavement. And by jove, he’s following it all the way to the top of the polls relying on several rhyming promises.
August 13, 2024
Two team Canadas… two wildly different levels of athleticism. While our athletes head to Paris, our politicians are flooding to the USA to promote Canadian interests in a wildly turbulent time.
July 30, 2024
We’re bringing you a special episode of a show we love! The Secret Life of Canada from CBC Podcasts is a podcast about the country you know and the stories you don't.
July 2, 2024
On June 3, a cross-party committee released a redacted document alleging some parliamentarians have been "semi-witting or witting" participants in the efforts of foreign states to interfere in Canadian politics. 
June 18, 2024
When B.C. decriminalized small amounts of drugs in January 2023, it was seen as a promising weapon in the battle against the drug crisis. In May, B.C. walked that policy back, saying it caused disorder in the streets.
June 4, 2024
When the first group of students parked up at Columbia University, it sparked a movement that has gripped schools across the world. These encampment protests have now gripped universities across Canada- at U of T, U UOttawa, McMaster, U of C, McGill, U of A, UBC, and Dalhousie.  
May 21, 2024
all podcasts arrow All Podcasts
The Backbench