Hunger at Home

Hunger at Home by Liz Lauren of  World Hunger Year

Images of hunger confront us when we see children from far-off countries on the news or when we pass homeless people on the street, but for many Americans, the problem is much closer to home. Many people struggle to feed their families despite working full-time jobs. The latest United States Department of Agriculture statistics report that 38.2 million Americans experience hunger or food insecurity—the condition of not knowing where one’s next meal is coming from. Food security, by comparison, indicates (1) the availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods at all times, and (2) the ability to acquire such foods in socially acceptable ways (that is, without resorting to emergency food supplies, scavenging, stealing, or other coping strategies).

In a country as wealthy as the United States, why is hunger still a problem? Why do working people have difficulty feeding their families? One factor we must take into consideration is that the U.S. has the highest wage inequality of any industrialized nation. People can work full time at minimum-wage jobs and still not make enough to cover the cost of housing, healthcare, transportation to work, childcare, etc. Families in this situation often have to choose between food and other basic necessities.

Government Assistance

Thankfully, government assistance does provide a safety net for many food insecure households. Two popular programs are the Food Stamp Program and The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). The Food Stamp Program provides low-income households with debit cards    that can be used to purchase food. WIC is targeted to   pregnant women, post-partum mothers, and infants and children that are at nutritional risk. WIC provides recipients with a monthly package of nutritional foods. WIC and food stamps, as well as other government nutrition programs, play vital roles in ensuring the nutrition of low-income Americans. However, these programs do not reach everyone who needs them. Nearly half of all households who are eligible for food stamps are not enrolled in the program. This may be due to the administrative hurdles people face when applying, or to the misperception that working people are not eligible. Furthermore, many families who struggle to make ends meet find that their income just exceeds the allowable amount.

Community Response to Hunger

Government assistance programs like food stamps and WIC are vulnerable to budget cuts by Congress. When this happens, even less people are eligible. Where do food insecure households go when they cannot get assistance from the government, or when the assistance provided is not enough? Often the first place people turn are emergency food providers (EFPs), such as food pantries and soup kitchens. However, the demand is often greater than what EFPs can provide, and many don’t have the capacity to provide long-term solutions to hunger.

Other community based organizations are designed to promote more long-term solutions to food insecurity. Examples include:

• A soup kitchen in New Jersey that trains unemployed guests in the culinary arts and helps them find jobs in the food-service industry. (Elijah’s Promise, www.elijahspromise.org)
• A food pantry in Indiana that teaches patrons to garden so that they can grow food in their homes. (Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard, www.bloomington.in.us/~mhc/)
• SHARE (Self Help and Resource Exchange), a decentralized, grassroots program that provides discounted food packages of meat, dairy, and produce in return for two hours of community service per month. The program differs from chapter to chapter. For an example, visit www.shareflorida.com.

The above organizations are all important players in    the community food security movement that emerged in the mid-1990s. This movement goes beyond the symptoms of food insecurity and confronts the cause. It is driven by the belief that everyone has the right to a safe, culturally acceptable, nutritionally adequate diet through a sustainable food system that maximizes community self-reliance and social justice. The movement works for change at all levels of the food system. Its members include farmers, consumers, EFPs, community-based organizations, the health sector, and advocacy groups. As consumers and as voters, we play a powerful role in the food system and can impact food security for ourselves and others.

To Learn More About Community Food Security:

World Hunger Year’s Food Security Learning Center: www.worldhungeryear.org/fslc

Community Food Security Coalition: http://foodsecurity.org/

To Learn More About Federal Nutrition Programs and Policy:

The USDA Food Stamp website: www.fns.usda.gov/fsp/default.htm

Food Research and Action Center: www.frac.org/

If You Are In Need of Food:

Call the National Hunger Hotline at 1-800-453-2648 or search the national database of organizations providing assistance: http://worldhungeryear.org/nhc_data/nhc_01.asp  

Hunger in a Global Economy: Hunger 1998, Bread for the World Institute. www.bread.org

http://www.frac.org/html/news/fsp/05.08_FSP.html