Friday was World Food Day, a day of action against global hunger. But hunger and food security aren't issues unique to developing countries or places overseas, they're issues many Canadians face daily.

"We've got very high levels of hunger in this country," says Diana Bronson, executive director of Food Secure Canada, "we've got over four million Canadians living in food insecurity."

That means over a million Canadian households are struggling to feed their families.

"It's, above all, a question of money, of having the necessary money to buy a healthy diet for yourself and your family," Bronson says. "In a country as wealthy as Canada, where food is so abundant, there is no reason why people should be going hungry."

Bronson says, as a country, the solution to hunger has traditionally been food banks. She thinks food banks do tremendous work, but should only be used in emergency situations. That's why Food Secure Canada is calling for a national food policy.

"On the food insecurity front, we're actually calling for a basic income floor. The research is pretty clear that if people had a basic income -- as they do when they turn 65 and become eligible for the guaranteed income supplement and the old age security pension -- food security levels go down quite dramatically," says Bronson.

With the federal election on Monday, Food Secure Canada has been working on its Eat, Think, Vote campaign aimed at eliminating hunger in Canada, providing healthy food in schools, working on affordable food in the north, and supporting new farmers.

According to Food Secure Canada, more than half of Canadian farmers are older than 55, with 80 per cent of current farmers looking to retire in the next 10 years. Bronson says there are many young people or new Canadians looking to get into farming but it's simply not affordable.

"There are three main obstacles," she says, "the first is access to land. Land prices have gone up quite dramatically across the country and become very unaffordable for most young farmers to get started on making a profitable business. Secondly, access to capital, access to the kind of equipment and infrastructure they need. And thirdly, access to training."

By supporting young farmers, Bronson says Canadian hunger may not be solved right away, but eventually she thinks it will translate to more nutritious, local food for consumers, and more money for local farmers.

More information on the Eat, Think, Vote campaign can be found on their website.