Hunger In America

Food Gatherers, Ann Arbor, Michigan: a food bank that serves many charitable organizations.
I took these photos a few years ago when I toured the Food Gatherers facility.

Thinking of Thanksgiving this week, I have written several posts about the celebrations that we have enjoyed over the years, and on the foods and traditions of this American holiday. I'm thankful that my family, friends, and I have been privileged to enjoy many of these traditions over the years. 

Now I would like to turn my thoughts to the many people who are suffering more this year than ever because they do not have sufficient resources to obtain adequate foods, for every day or for the holiday. Hunger is worse than ever in our community, as in our country as a whole, and in the entire world.

From the newsletter of Food Gatherers, our
local food bank (source)

What can I do? What can we do? My choice has been donating to Food Gatherers, the local food bank in Ann Arbor. Like most similar organizations nationwide, Food Gatherers has experienced a great increase in need this year. The associated food pantries that distribute food from Food Gatherers to needy people have been extremely stressed. Pantries that served 100 families a month before the pandemic now serve 100 families per week. 

The food distribution organizations working with Food Gatherers have increased support for vulnerable families and individuals who are unable to pick up food at distribution centers. They have also been increasing help provided at the distribution centers where people can pick up food boxes.  

Food Gatherers obtains food from a number of sources, including donations of surplus food, donations via food drives, purchases of food from various sources, and food obtained from Feeding America, which is an organization that supplies food to food pantries nationwide. Feeding America is the parent organization of 200 food banks and 60,000 food pantries nationwide. To learn about how Feeding America collects and distributes food throughout these organizations, see: "How Do Food Banks Work?"

Feeding America has recognized the accomplishments of Food Gatherers: "For the second year in a row, Food Gatherers has been inducted into the Feeding America Advocacy Hall of Fame. To be included, food banks must complete a year-long challenge that includes educating community members and policymakers about the realities of food insecurity."

From the website of Feeding America (link), I would like to quote the following summary of the dire situation of hungry children, working-age Americans, elderly people, and households in both urban and rural areas. They write: 

Millions of children and families living in America face hunger and food insecurity every day.

• Due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, more than 50 million people may experience food insecurity in 2020, including a potential 17 million children.
• According to the USDA's latest Household Food Insecurity in the United States report, more than 35 million people in the United States struggled with hunger in 2019. 
• In 2018, 14.3 million American households were food insecure with limited or uncertain access to enough food.
• Households with children are more likely to experience food insecurity. Before the coronavirus pandemic, more than 10 million children live in food-insecure households.
• Every community in the country is home to families who struggle with food insecurity including rural and suburban communities.
• Many households that experience food insecurity do not qualify for federal nutrition programs and need to rely on their local food banks and other hunger relief organizations for support.

I try to be conscious of the needs of others, and I have been donating money to Food Gatherers throughout the terrible emergency that's gripped our country this year. When I think about Thanksgiving, I think of my own life but also others' lives. I feel grateful to these organizations for helping those who need help. I encourage generosity from anyone who is able to be generous.

Note about a program to alleviate hunger: In thinking about the problems of hunger in America, I have been trying to follow a government program that was invented last spring to address the food insecurity caused by the pandemic. This program, unfortunately, has been kept fairly secret from the public and from relevant watchdogs. It was supposed to collect farm surpluses, such as food that would have been sold to restaurants, and to employ private corporations (rather than the existing food bank network or the USDA) to assemble and distribute food boxes to needy people. Many problems with suspicious or corrupt dealings have been documented with these private corporations, which were often cronies of the administration. For a recent report on this issue see "Trump officials gave a finance firm $16.3 million to supply food boxes to the poor. House Democrats are raising questions about how those funds were handled."

UPDATE: Also see this summary about the increase in hunger in America at the Guardian today.

Blog post © 2020 mae sander, quotes and images as credited.