Hungry Bellies Only: Bridging the Food Gap in Rural Communities

Anthony & Julia, Bub’z Dropin and Soup Kitchen

By Anthony Ireland, Bub’z Dropin & Soup Kitchen

Some people don’t have money. Some people do have money, but it’s still a struggle to eat. The price of food is going up, but wages aren't, so I see people coming into Bub’z from all directions. We don't stop you if you rolled up in a Mercedes Benz. I don't need to know what your income is – it’s none of my business what you drive, where you're from, or what kind of job you’ve got. My business is, are you hungry? Hungry bellies only.

In 1840, we were a self-sustaining community. We grew our own food. We were a strong community. Over time, with the influence of modern-day society and the money that came with it, it became the new thing to just go to the grocery store. When I go down to the corner store, it's pop and chips. There really is no healthy staple food to access within Oneida.

I'm lucky. I have a car. I can drive to town, go to the grocery store to get fruits and vegetables and all this other stuff. But when you shop rurally, it's other frozen things. It’s real estate, I get it. If I put all this fresh produce on the shelf, everything would just get thrown out. And people are only going to buy what’s convenient and throw in a microwave or open up the bag, while they crack open the can of pop or whatever. 

The difference between hunger in the city and hunger out here in the country is that I'm 20 kilometres from a fresh grocery store, and when stuff comes down here second-hand, its shelf life is going to be lower. When I lived in the city and the grocery store was right around the corner, I didn't have to stockpile my fridge and freezer because I had easier access. I didn't have to travel from the reserve to London. Maybe I didn't even need a car. I see the people in the reserve who don't have a license or don't have a car. They spend $40 on getting a ride to the grocery store. That's $40 that's not going in your fridge versus if they were living in a city where they could just walk to the grocery store or spend $3 getting the bus.

If we had a grocery store down here in the CMO [Chippewas, Muncey, Oneida] area, I think there would be a good turnout. A big grocery store out in the rural area would benefit a lot of people.

When we started Bub’z restaurant, we wanted to do it for the social aspect to help people reconnect, but when we realized how much of a need there was for food here, we turned into a food bank. We didn’t realize how many people don't know how to cook a healthy meal.

I've seen the need change in our community. A lot of people talk to me about how I like the vegan options and they're asking me questions. People come here [to the food bank and the soup kitchen] and they pick healthier stuff, so I see the change where people want to get healthier. But if we're hungry, we're going to eat what's simple, what's easy, what's quick, what’s available – that's very unhealthy, ultra-processed food – and that's damaging our today. How were we before? We were healthy. We were running. There was no diabetes. 

I'm diabetic. I have all these health issues and health complications from diabetes and eating this way for long periods of time, and I'm still struggling today to correct myself by educating myself through the whole foods plant-based movement. But I can only do that because I have the healthier food options because I’m able to go to town, pass all those fast food joints, and instead of buying $50 worth of fast food, buy $50 worth of apples, oranges, and grapes that everybody can share and make last a little longer.