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How
many times growing up did our parents tell us not to let
food go to waste? If we didn’t like what was on our
plate or didn’t want to finish it, we’d hear, “Think of
all the starving children in Africa.” Sound familiar?
I
wonder what my reaction would have been if my mom had
said, “Think of the children in your school who don’t
have enough to eat tonight.” In south Minneapolis where
I grew up, there probably were kids like that. It's
likely that at least one classmate of mine or my
sisters' was growing up in a food-insecure household.
And unfortunately, since then, that number has been
steadily increasing. In 2004, the United States
Department of Agriculture estimated that 13.8 million
children lived in food-insecure households, an increase
of more than 1 million since 2001.
Research indicates that young children who
experience even slight undernutrition during critical
periods of growth are affected in their behavior, school
performance, and overall cognitive development.
So
how can we provide for those who are food insecure? How
can we ensure that the food that is available gets to
the people who need it? How can we eradicate hunger and
poverty in America?
It
wasn't until I sat on the ELCA domestic hunger grants
committee that the issue of hunger in America really hit
home. Reading the project applications, I learned that
“waste not, want not” isn't just a good idea at home,
it's a nationwide strategy to confront hunger in the
United States, hunger compounded by the inefficient way
in which food is distributed to those in need. Grant
requests from around the country described the needs of
the most vulnerable in our communities, and the
descriptions of these programs made it painfully
clear to me that the situation of hungry people in the
United States is getting worse.
Teaching the waste not, want not approach
John Arnolds is executive director of
Second Harvest
Gleaners Food Bank of West Michigan. His program
provides about 68,000 pounds of food every day to 1,150
charitable agencies in 40 Michigan counties. John
Arnolds has become a leader in education and advocacy
for the “waste not, want not” strategy.
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11.9 percent of U.S. households were food-insecure
in 2004, an increase over 1999's 10.1 percent.
The frequency of food insecurity is twice as high in
households with children and in African American and
Hispanic households.
The highest rate of food insecurity is found among
households with children headed by a single woman:
33 percent are food-insecure.
The United States
Department of Agriculture fall 2004
report, Household Food Security in the United
States.
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This strategy is
the fruit of research conducted and funded by Michigan State
University and a Heart of West Michigan United
Way grant. Studies by the
Waste Not Want Not Project have revealed that the
gap between resources and unmet needs is a result of how
resources are distributed. "Waste not, want not"
recommends meeting the needs of the hungry through
accessible food pantries that offer a wide variety of
foods, and food banks, not grocery stores, that serve as
distribution points.
Here are just a few tactics to consider as we work to
turn the system around:
1.
Access: Is your food pantry close to public
transportation? Are the hours convenient? Are the
pantry's clients treated in a respectful and welcoming
manner? May they shop as often as they need to, or are
they limited to weekly visits? (Think about it: How
often do you stop by the grocery store?)
2.
Fund drive, not food drive: “Canned food drives cannot
end hunger in America—they don’t leverage enough
resources,” Arnold reports in “Charity
Food Programs That Can End Hunger in America”.
Perhaps someone who is willing to donate a few cans of
food would be just as willing to donate $5. “Giving in
ways that are easy to document for tax deduction
purposes can drive down the community-wide bottom line
cost of ending hunger by up to 25 percent,” he writes.
3.
Food banks, not grocery stores: Food banks are one of
America’s best-kept secrets, Arnold claims. “Every
community in America is served by a food bank or a food
rescue organization that is a member of America’s Second
Harvest, The Nation’s Food Bank Network.” When you buy
your food from a food bank (and you can) instead of a
grocery store, you pay far less. The choices are not as
varied as a supermarket, but the food bank has the
necessities. Find your area’s
America’s Second
Harvest member.
Living waste not, want not
“I thought there were enough places to send people for
food, but there weren’t.” Church secretary Janet Jaeger
of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Jackson, Michigan, is the
one who answers the door or the phone when hungry people
come to the church asking for help.
At
first, Immanuel gave people grocery store vouchers and
boxes of canned goods, Jaeger said. But there was never
enough for all the people who asked the church for help.
Hoping to find better ways to provide for them, Jaeger
and some parishioners attended one of Arnold’s
presentations.
Inspired and energized, Immanuel members opened their
food pantry in 2003. The church’s pantry opens every
Saturday morning at 9:30, serving more than 150 families
each week. The pantry uses no money from the church
budget; it is funded entirely by donations and grants,
including a 2006 Domestic Hunger grant from the ELCA.
Last year, Immanuel received donations of more than
$35,000 to purchase food and other supplies for its
pantry. The pantry buys its goods from the Second
Harvest Food Bank in Battle Creek, about 50 miles west
of Jackson. Immanuel now offers health care services
when the pantry is open, including monthly blood
pressure checks administered by the parish nurse.
Providing for hungry families in the area has become an
important part of the church’s mission, Jaeger said.
So,
what can you do?
Take a minute to visit
America’s Second Harvest Web site where you can find
hunger and poverty statistics for every state. Find out
what hunger looks like in your own community by checking
out your state’s demographics, poverty indicators, and
participation in federal and local nutrition programs.
Does your congregation run a pantry? Would it benefit
from learning about the Waste Not, Want Not initiative?
How can you contribute? Visit the
Second
Harvest volunteer site, where you will find a list
of participating food programs in your area. Become an
advocate in your own community!
Emily Hansen is an Associate for programs for
Women of the ELCA in the areas of grants, scholarships,
and social justice. She and her husband are parents to
their three-year-old son, Aidan.
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Partners for ending hunger Web site
Joining hearts to make a difference
by Mary Lou McKinley
“I
found myself homeless unexpectedly,” said Tammy J. of
Cincinnati, Ohio, who recently used the services of
Family Promise. “I’m a college graduate, and I have two
young daughters and a third child on the way. What I
liked about our hosts in the network is that they
treated me like a person, not a statistic. They
understand that we’re real people with real feelings in
situations that we didn’t plan on being in.”
For
various reasons, many families find themselves without a
place to sleep or food to eat or hope for the future.
That’s when Family Promise steps in. Through its
Interfaith Hospitality Network (IHN), Family Promise
offers homeless and low-income families lodging, food,
and the opportunity to break free from dire economic
situations.
IHN
brings together clergy and congregations of all faiths
who offer overnight accomodations in their own
buildings. ELCA congregations play a significant role in
the national IHN program, which currently involves
110,000 volunteers in 123 cities in 39 states.
Volunteers turn classrooms into bedrooms for the
families and stay with them through the night. They
serve home-cooked meals, assist children with homework,
and help parents get back on their feet economically.
Unlike other shelters that separate women and men, IHN
facilities help families stay together.
IHN
volunteers have created programs to help families beyond
their immediate need for food and shelter. These include
transitional housing, job and life skills training,
budgeting and banking assistance, and more.
Trying poverty on for size
To help IHN volunteers understand the root causes of
poverty and homelessness, Family Promise has developed a
nine-session, multimedia program called Just Neighbors.
Through interactive exercises, participants "walk in the
shoes" of low-income families. They gain a better
understanding of the truths and myths about poverty and
are motivated to advocate for public policies that
assist families in need.
Just Neighbors was developed for IHN congregations and
volunteers, but word of its effectiveness soon spread to
other non-profit organizations, schools, and religious
institutions. Habitat for Humanity uses it as part of
its ongoing training program, and educators from grade
schools to graduate schools have praised its content and
approach.
In
the past year, the ELCA has sponsored two Just Neighbors
retreat weekends. One Just Neighbors session became the
basis for an all-day simulation of what happens to a
town when a large business shuts down, was offered
during a Global Mission Event July 28 in Amherst,
Massachusetts. With the assistance of a grant from the
ELCA, Family Promise has updated its
Just Neighbors
Web site.
Family Promise continues to expand
The Interfaith Advocacy Program, the newest Family
Promise initiative, creates networks of advocates across
the country. These advocates work with local, state, and
national organizations to develop public policies that
benefit low-income families, such as minimum wage bills
and housing trust funds.
Want to learn more? Find out more about
Family Promise.
Mary Lou McKinley lives in New York.
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