The numbers blasted across the news media this past year were telling and cut to the core of what’s a dire situation – according to a Statistics Canada report in October, from 2021 to 2022, more households reported experiencing moderate or severe food insecurity, and median after-tax income of Canadian families decreased $2500 in 2022 compared to 2021 (to $70,500).
Approximately 15% of Canadian households experienced food insecurity in 2022. There was also an increase in the severity of that situation, StatsCan reported. Those most affected households were those at heightened risk of financial hardship, particularly one-parent households with children, households reliant on government assistance for income in the prior year and renters.
Prices for food remain elevated
Prices remain elevated for basics like food, rent and mortgage interest going into 2025, so food insecurity is going to remain a huge challenge going forward. Food bank usage in Canada is soaring.
That’s where philanthropy from high net-worth individuals can make a real difference. Most people don’t want to just cut a cheque and walk away. More targeted philanthropic donations can have a significant impact on the lives of individuals in need. When donations are targeted, donors often feel a closer connection to the cause or individual they are helping. This emotional link enhances the satisfaction derived from giving.
Organizations like Toronto-based MAZON Canada are committed to addressing the challenges of food insecurity at a micro level, to work with donors who have specific goals for their giving, generating maximizing impact. Their mission statement:
“We mobilize our Jewish community to champion the universal right to food, and provide critical financial support to diverse food aid
programs across Canada.”
MAZON Canada: Over 365K meals provided in 2023
In 2023, working with donors, through 282 partner programs, MAZON provided over 365,000 meals across nine Canadian provinces and two territories, in 101 Canadians towns and cities – funding food, gardens, infrastructure, innovation.
In the last five years, MAZON has grown their annual grants from $350,000 to 120 organizations to $1 million to 280 organizations (equal to 1,000 meals a day served across the country).
Eating healthy is luxury
That’s a level of tangibility that philanthropists like to see – targeted, focused impact, addressing a specific need, resources that are allocated efficiently. People like to feel they are making a more personalized touch – getting a better understanding of the unique challenges faced by individuals, seeing their donations lead to quicker results, empowering individuals with the tools and resoruces to create sustainable changes in their lives.
Regarding Luxury has written several times on the benefits of eating healthy food – and MAZON has helped Canadians navigate that path. Luxury and health are intertwining. Embracing luxury in pursuing health is not about indulgence, but about elevating one’s lifestyle to achieve a pinnacle of wellness that’s holistic and enduring.
During these times, the support of the Jewish community to address food insecurity has never been greater – MAZON donor presentation
Maximizing the impact of giving
To help donors maximize the impact of their giving, MAZON Canada annually updates a database of mission-critical and capacity-expanding funding requests from grantees. These usually involve specific infrastructure or equipment that would sustain or expand their work – a freezer that helps an organization receive 150 pounds extra food each week for the 10-year lifetime of the appliance at no extra cost, or new all-weather wagons to help street outreach teams carry more hot food further out into the winter nights to reach people living without shelter, for example.
MAZON’s boutique Community Sponsorship program matches discerning donors with real, specific challenges in need of real, specific solutions, according to on-the-ground experts. And that’s a difference-maker for the philanthropic community.
I am a 50-something Torontonian who loves everything about my city. It’s been my home, my playground, for my entire life. I went to school here. I met my wife here. I own real estate here. I love writing about the transformation of my city on the world stage, which hasn’t been anything short of dramatic. That continues on, as I write this. I write on the real estate scene. I write on travel and fashion. I like following the world of luxury watches.
But I love writing about cars – check that, luxury cars, a level of superior, engineering sophistication, high performance and style, that transports you not just from one destination to another but also out of whatever you are going through on a particular day, whatever mood you are in, all to another head space. It’s complete and total exhilaration, head to toe.
Check out my stories, and email me direct at mkeast@regardingluxury.com
