Canadian policy on homelessness has emphasized "managing" the problem through local emergency services and in some cases through criminalizing homelessness through outlawing sleeping rough, panhandling and squeegeeing. As a result, the feeding of the homeless has largely been left to community groups that can only provide limited emergency food assistance. Researchers set out to see what kind of an impact these policies have had on the nutrition of the homeless, especially homeless youth in cities like Toronto.

Source: Gaetz, Stephen. Safe Streets for Whom? Homeless Youth, Social Exclusion, and Criminal Victimization. Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice. 2004. 46(4):423-455.