We saw it over the summer as The Open Link distributed more than 17,000 meals to children throughout the valley through the Summer Kids Meals Program and we see it in the Food Pantry with 30% increase in households coming to us in need of supplemental food – hunger in America is on the rise.
According to the USDA, in the US, 44 million people are food insecure; 13 million of those are children and 7 million are seniors. All counties in the US experience food insecurity, so there is no one area that escapes this issue.
The question I’ve asked myself and I’m sure has crossed your mind as well is why. If the US is the richest country in the world, why is hunger still a prevalent and significant issue?
The answer to this question is complex at best, and its fluidity makes it difficult to pinpoint. The solution to hunger is reliant on so many different things including politics, public awareness, food availability, regionality and public policy. In short, we need to have the will to end it.
No matter what the larger issues might be, the reality is that for many households in the Upper Perkiomen Valley, food insecurity is something they face daily. For our low-income seniors on fixed incomes, the cost of everything is rising but their social security has not kept pace with inflation, so they are having to make difficult choices between food and medicine or rent.
For families facing food insecurity, many of the same issues are present, but added are the cost of childcare, transportation and the hefty cost of supporting a family.
Many people we see at the pantry are working adults whose incomes just haven’t kept pace with the rising cost of everything. There are also a significant number of individuals who are not able to work due to an injury, illness or age.
When I began working in food banks in the early 2000’s, the purpose of food pantries was to provide emergency food for those who had fallen on hard times. Over the years, this philosophy has shifted to one of being a supplemental food provider to help extend food stamp purchasing power and support already extremely tight food budgets.
During the pandemic, food insecurity in children actually decreased 2% due in part to an increase in food stamps for households with children, the tax credit for families with children and a wide availability of free and reduced cost breakfast and lunch at school. Now that these programs are ending, we’ve seen a sharp increase in childhood hunger, up by 5% in 2023 to 17.3% - the highest it’s been in a decade.
As we enter Hunger Action Month, it is a great time to think about what we can do as a community to end hunger right here in the Valley. Here are a few things to help our children and our seniors have full bellies each day.
· Hold a food drive in your neighborhood, faith community or workplace.
· Volunteer at the pantry.
· Sign on to a petition to expand the Farm Bill which also expands access to food stamps. https://frac.org/action/snap-farm-bill/road-to-the-farm-bill
· Contact your political representative and tell them that they need to make food security a priority.
· Help The Open Link to identify new sources of food to increase pantry access.
· Plan a fundraiser to help The Open Link.
A complex problem like food insecurity needs more than one answer to solve it. Together, we can work toward the solution to end hunger in the Upper Perk Valley.
