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Can't buy me love — or food security

May 18th, 2026

  • How welfare creates food insecurity
  • Where I've been
  • Where to next
  • Updates from On Tour
  • Watch the film
  • Follow the tour
  • Host a screening

How welfare creates food insecurity

"Can't buy me love, oh. Love, oh. Can't buy me love, oh. Oh!"

The Beatles said it best in 1964. There are things that money can't buy. Love. Family. Community. A fair price for farmers. But that doesn't stop people from trying to buy those things. And when you have too much money, it's easy to destroy the things you can't buy by trying too hard to purchase them.

This wasn't a conscious theme for me when I made The Hands that Feed Us, but the idea has come up again and again in discussion. Last week, I showed my film in my uncle & aunt's community of Namīpithsīpihk (Sucker River), Saskatchewan. And my uncle George told a story that really drove this theme home for me:

George told me that, before government welfare, his reserve was very poor. Nobody had enough money, but nobody went hungry because those who had food shared with those who didn’t have it. The looked out for each other. The basic idea of welfare is to give people on the reserve enough money to buy food and shelter. But when welfare came to the reserve, the social custom of sharing food disappeared. People now had their own money, so it was expected that those people would buy food with it. If they didn't have enough food, that was their own problem as individuals; it was no longer a problem for the community to solve for each other, so the custom of sharing food died out.

George's story has echoes earlier in history. A couple years ago, Karl Polanyi's The Great Transformation left a big impression on me because it describes a historical event that I wasn't aware of: A forty year period where England implemented Universal Basic Income (the Speedhamland system) — in 1795! I'd been interested in UBI as a policy, and I was unaware that it had ever been tried at a large scale. Polanyi describes how the Speedhamland system created a cycle of addiction among those who 'benefited' from it.

When I read about it, I was struck by how similar it was to the cycle of addiction suffered by the First Nations when Canada imposed the Indian Act half a century later. And here was my uncle George telling me about it first hand!

My point here is not about universal basic income; if you're interested in that, read The Great Transformation. My point is that money can buy food, but it can't buy food security, and — based on the story my uncle told — trying to do so can actually create food insecurity and a host of other problems. When we try to buy something that can't be bought, not only do we not get what we want, but we also risk making that thing unattainable.

Where I've been

  • May 5th: Farm One Forty - Vanscoy, SK
  • May 8th: Prarie Garden Seeds - Ternier Family Farm - Cochin, SK
  • May 12th: Namīpithsīpihk (Sucker River), SK
  • May 13th: Kikinahk Friendship Centre - La Ronge, SK

Where to next

  • May 19th: Sustainable Brandon - Brandon, MB
  • May 20th: NFU Event - Tizhome Farm - Deleau, MB
  • May 21st: NFU Event - Minnedosa, MB
  • May 23rd: Harvest Moon Society Learning Centre - Clearwater, MB
  • May 27th: NFU Event - Beausejour, MB

See long-term schedule

Updates from on tour

Stay tuned for our new podcast, coming soon! And follow the tour on our regularly-updated YouTube playlist here. Below are a few of the latest videos Devon has made:

Does Welfare provide welfare or just money?

Watch the film

Follow the tour

Suggest a host

Devon wants to have a movie night with as many people across Canada as he can visit! All you have to do is invite friends, family, and neighbours (10-15 is plenty), and offer a barn, basement or living room for a gathering. Devon will provide a projector, screen, and sound, and facilitate a post-screening discussion.

Devon is in Manitoba now, moving on to Ontario in June into July. He will continue east after that, turning around in Newfoundland at the end of September. He will be in your area — bring the tour to your hometown, and spread the word!

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