In a country as wealthy and agriculturally productive as Canada, it’s surprising that more than a quarter of the population—including 2.5 million children—still struggles to afford food. This study focuses on Prince Edward Island (PEI), a small province with strong agricultural output but persistent food insecurity. We created a new tool called the Livelihood Index (LI) to understand better why this happens. The LI uses official census data to map local differences in factors such as income, job types, and climate risks—particularly examining gender disparities in income across 98 regional areas. We also grouped these areas into 'livelihood zones' that share similar challenges. Our analysis reveals that women are significantly more likely to be in lower-income brackets than men, and these differences are consistent across the province. We found that the LI strongly matches existing survey data on food insecurity, which means it can help policymakers more precisely target support where it's needed. Unlike other models that rely primarily on expert opinion, our method utilizes open and reliable data, making it easily adaptable for use in various parts of Canada or the world. This makes the LI a powerful tool for fighting food insecurity with real, localized action.