Category: Uncategorized

The Hungry People We Don’t Talk About

What demographics experience some of the highest rates of hunger?

It’s not who you think it is, precisely because you thought it.

You probably guessed seniors and children. Anti-hunger efforts tend to focus on these two vulnerable demographics because of the concern that they are helpless to fight it themselves. Seniors are living on a fixed income, while children are at the mercy of their parents’ financial situation. Anti-hunger advocacy has long prioritized those whose poverty we see as out of their control (the “deserving poor”).

Because of greater concerns regarding senior and childhood hunger, there are more programs available to support them. Just over 10% of American households are food insecure, while 12.5% of households with children do so. Although having children in the household does increase the hunger risk, programs like the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and Women, Infants and Children (WIC) are powerful and effective tools against childhood hunger.

Households that include a senior experience hunger rates of 7.1%, and 9.5% for seniors living alone. Seniors are one of the least-hungry demographics in the U.S. (Keep in mind that no identity exists independently, and people have many different experiences and identities that impact their hunger risk. This data only indicates that advancing age is not a primary indicator of hunger risk and does not mean there are no hungry seniors or that we shouldn’t be figuring out how to lower these numbers further.) The low rate of senior hunger is thanks to programs such as Meals on Wheels, the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP), and other projects specifically because this is a demographic that is prioritized when fighting hunger.

While these communities certainly deserve our attention and continued efforts to end hunger, it’s important for anti-hunger advocates to examine where the greatest need lies. Identifying the barriers to food security for our most vulnerable community members helps us increase access for everyone.

Who’s hungry?

College Students

41% of college students are food insecure. Our vision of a college student as a carefree young person with their parents footing the bill is long outdated. A college degree is now almost essential for accessing a living wage, so higher numbers of first generation, older and other “nontraditional” students are pursuing college and graduate degrees.

Many of these students are attending community college, over 25, supporting their own families, paying their own housing and other living expenses, and usually end up in significant debt with the high cost of tuition. It should be no surprise that nearly half of college students don’t have enough food to eat.

LGBTQ+ Individuals

22% of LGBTQ+ individuals are food insecure.

These high hunger rates are largely due to discrimination thanks to a lack of protective federal policies (particularly employment), which leaves this community more vulnerable to poverty, houselessness, and hunger. Charitable resources may also be less available due to intolerant and homophobic organizations that don’t welcome everyone.

People with Disabilities

55% of disabled Medicare recipients are food insecure. Despite protective policies like the ADA, people with disabilities still experience discrimination that limits housing and employment opportunities, which have a profound impact on hunger rates. Disabilities may also make it harder to physically access food, as people may not have the ability to shop at the grocery store or travel long distances for affordable food.

While policy changes on both the local and federal level are necessary for eliminating the root causes of hunger for these groups, there are certainly steps that food pantries can take to become more available to these communities and thus a little more accessible to everyone.

How Can Food Pantries Support Our Hungriest Neighbors?

College Students

Do students know about food resource options? The stigma against using emergency food assistance programs for students is high, so making pantries easily accessible and welcoming for young people is essential. SNAP benefits are often unavailable to students, and these restrictions may mean that students don’t know that there are other resources available to them. Because of this, more and more colleges are developing their own pantries right on campus. Pantries should do direct outreach at schools with clear explanations of eligibility. Volunteer recruitment may also be a gentle way to introduce students to the idea of food assistance, as many schools require volunteer hours as part of their curriculum.

LBGTQ+ Individuals

Many food pantries are located in or have their origins within religious institutions which historically have not welcomed the LGBTQ+ community. My own food pantry started in a church basement, and our name and logo reflect that. As a result, I often get phone calls inquiring about our religious affiliation (there is none) because people are unsure if it is a safe space.

 One small but significant step we’ve taken is to ask for our client’s pronouns upon check-in, so that we can ensure we identify them correctly (after training volunteers on the importance of pronouns). Also, because we do not require any identification or documentation, our shoppers can choose what name we enter them in our database even if it does not match their identification. I’ve been delighted with the few opportunities I’ve had to delete someone’s deadname in our database (the name they had before their transition). Small details like gender neutral bathrooms are also more inclusive.

There is no reason that inclusive food pantries shouldn’t do deliberate outreach towards the LGBTQ+ community. With Pride Month approaching, pantries committed to fighting LGBTQ+ hunger should absolutely deck themselves in rainbows and undertake outreach so everyone knows there is a safe and welcoming place to get food assistance.

People with Disabilities

Can the pantry space accommodate wheelchairs? Are there places to sit, or must clients stand in a long line to enter? Is there a quiet space where someone who is overstimulated may take a break? Because many pantries exist in whatever space is available, they may not be physically accessible to everyone. Pantries often find workarounds by distributing food boxes to individuals who can’t enter the pantry themselves, but this deprives them of the respect and autonomy that is so important to establishing a dignified experience. Although we have only one disabled parking spot at our pantry, we are mostly accessible and have volunteers on hand to help clients shop however they may need it, such pushing a shopping cart for a wheelchair user or explaining our food options to those with limited vision to ensure they can have the same shopping experience as everyone else.

Hunger doesn’t exist in a silo. It is important to remember that identities overlap and that hunger rates are also heavily influenced by race, gender, and a multitude of other factors. We can never know all the obstacles to food security that someone may face, which is why breaking down the greatest barriers for our most vulnerable populations helps us improve food security for the entire community.

There are many, many other ways that food pantries can ensure these demographics feel more welcome and food secure. What are some of the steps that your organization has taken?

*(Data is from 2021-22 resources.)

The opinions expressed here are solely my own and do not express the views or opinions of my employer.

Top Tips for Prioritizing Clients at Your Food Pantry

Food and hunger are deeply complex issues, and ones which carry a lot of emotional weight. Especially in America, there are strong cultural ideas about hunger that heavily influence how we view it and impact the policies we make to address it. Solutions crafted to end hunger are often ineffective because they address our assumptions rather than the reality.

Luckily, many food pantries have significant autonomy, which means they have the authority to make organization-level policies that address hunger as it is rather than how we feel about it. However, as small nonprofits that may not have a strong social justice foundation that depend upon volunteers to survive, there are just as many opportunities for food pantries to prioritize things other than hunger and the people we serve.

Every food pantry should aspire to be client centered. Client-centered food pantries focus on the needs and experience of the people seeking their services.

Although this may require a significant change in mindset, client-centered food pantries do better helping meet their shoppers’ needs, provide volunteers with more meaningful opportunities for service, and offer a more comfortable environment for everyone.

What are the characteristics of a client-centered food pantry?

  • Services are designed to fit the needs of the clients rather than clients fitting into service model. That means that every pantry should be individualized. What works for one community may not work for another.
  • Assume that the client knows their own needs best. If we are not living in their house with them, then it is impossible for us to judge what foods will best help them celebrate their culture, be healthy, and feel secure.
  • Generosity. Food pantries should not just give clients enough food to fill their bellies- they should give enough to provide emotional security. A full kitchen provides a sense of security as well as many days’ worth of meals. No one walks away with too much food from a food pantry.
  • Be open to criticism. Given the quality of food pantries generally receive, it is inevitable that a loaf of moldy bread occasionally makes its way to a client. A client-centered food pantry recognizes that no one likes being given food that’s gone bad and vows to do better. Even though mistakes are unavoidable, getting defensive only increases animosity and demeans the client.
  • Who is the intended audience of the pantry’s public outreach efforts? Looking at websites and social media, do they target clients, volunteers, or donors? What information will these other demographics be deprived of if outreach efforts focus on clients, helping them access information about your services and resources? Probably very little.
  • Close attention to the use of language. A volunteer once observed that she had never heard me say “no” to a client. If we do not have an item they need, I always try to offer an alternative, even if it isn’t very similar. This prioritizes a sense of abundance that helps our visitors feel like we have enough for everyone.
  • Prioritize client needs. Although food pantries would not function without the community members who donate their time, it’s important to remember that our mission is to serve clients with the help of volunteers rather than using clients to provide volunteers with a meaningful experience. Ideally this is a mutually beneficial relationship, but it is easy for food pantries to emphasize volunteer needs over those of clients.

There has been a transition in the food banking world in the last decade. Food justice advocates are learning that the most effective way to end hunger is to engage with and empower those with lived experience.

Adopting a client-centered pantry model is more dignified for the user, allows the organization to build stronger relationships, and disseminates the idea that everyone deserves to eat good quality food, no matter what.

The opinions expressed here are solely my own and do not express the views or opinions of my employer.

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What We Get Wrong About the Root Causes of Hunger

When a new client first comes into my food pantry, many feel compelled to explain why they are here. Many of our shoppers have experienced a chain of challenges that has left them without the money to buy food, such as a job loss, medical emergency, housing crisis, or other disaster.

Based on the “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” mentality that is engrained into our American psyches, it’s easy to internalize the idea that people have arrived at this position due to their own choices. Somehow, they brought those crises on themselves. We assume that people lack the education, the experience, or sound decision-making abilities that could keep them from needing the help of a food pantry. Nothing could be further from the truth. If hunger were an individual problem, then we’d be able to solve it on the individual level.

Here are the two main ways we frame hunger as an individual failure rather than a systemic problem:

1. Nutrition Education

It’s easy to believe that people wouldn’t be hungry if only they knew how to cook and eat a little more responsibly. If someone had taught them how to prepare lentils, or buy in bulk, or create a meal plan, then they wouldn’t be at risk of food insecurity.

 Nutrition education as a root cause of hunger is a popular misconception because it also addresses the high rates of diet-related disease experienced by people living in poverty. Although it is very clearly documented that low income individuals eat unhealthy foods because they are the most affordable and accessible, we assume that people choose to eat this way because they don’t know any better.

In a society that glorifies willpower as the primary determinant of health, it’s too easy to accept the misconception that food insecurity is fueled by poor eating choices that can be solved with cooking classes and nutritional posters.

At my food pantry, it is very clear that our clients are eager for fresh produce and other healthy options. Everyone knows the basics of how to eat healthy.

The barriers preventing people from eating more whole foods and scratch cooking are numerous and complex. Many food pantry clients live in public housing, transitional housing, retirement units, or other facilities which offer inadequate or nonexistent kitchens. Many of my clients only have access to a microwave. They may have a tiny refrigerator, which they often share with other residents. Cooking is challenging or impossible with these limited resources.

Many food pantry clients work more than one job, often in addition to serving as a caregiver for children or aging relatives. As all of us know, it’s hard enough to find the time to cook healthy meals when we’re only responsible for ourselves. Preparing a healthy meal while providing for others with special needs is a daunting and exhausting responsibility when you barely have enough money to get by.

Ignorance of cultural differences can also color our judgements about how others’ food choices. Our pantry currently serves many Russian and Ukrainian families, who have informed me that beans are not a part of their traditional diet. These families are eager to take bags and bags of potatoes, cabbage, and other fresh produce, but dry beans, often praised as one of the healthiest budget food options, don’t play a role in their cuisine. Blaming poverty on cultural differences like this is ridiculous and disrespectful.

Our clients are eager to eat healthy foods. Fresh produce flies off our shelves. We were surprised to observe the immense popularity of eggplant. I didn’t know that our community vastly prefers green over purple cabbage. Things like sliced fruit and berries rarely make it to the fridge before being snapped up, and you’re likely to see a small child munching on an apple or banana while their parents’ shop.

While we are certainly more comfortable assigning individual blame, I have learned that food pantry clients know how they should eat and would love the opportunity to do so if only they were able. Cooking classes and nutrition resources are powerful resources for building skills, having fun, and improving quality of life, but they are an individual resource that acts as only the tiniest band aid for a systemic problem.

2. Financial Literacy

Our cultural biases in America make us particularly likely to assume that people are hungry because of poor financial decisions. We judge the quality of their car, the way they’re dressed, or the age of the phone they carry, and speculate that if they hadn’t made such frivolous purchases, they probably wouldn’t be hungry.

In reality, most of our food pantry clients have very few opportunities to change their financial situation. Employment opportunities are restricted by skillset, but also transportation, caregiving duties, and scheduling around second and third jobs. Responsibilities like this make it incredibly hard to change jobs or careers while ensuring the household gets the care it needs.

It is easy to make judgements about personal spending and think about how we would have behaved differently if we were in that situation.

We may condemn someone for the purchase of a new phone, recognizing that it may represent several days’ worth of food, but it’s also important to remember that the price of that little luxury will not extract anyone from poverty.

This decision has nothing to do with needing financial education.

Everyone needs a certain level of financial literacy, and, in particular, women are often denied it (and then shamed for their lack of knowledge). Financial literacy classes are an important and useful tool for helping people succeed. But naming financial education as the cause of poverty and hunger demonstrates a blatant misunderstanding of what hunger really looks like.

What Does Cause Hunger?

Food pantry users don’t have access to enough money. Gender and/or racial discrimination keeps wages low and limits employment opportunities. Outrageous costs of living suck up income. Medical or student debt curtails financial freedom.  Caregiving responsibilities consume all time and energy outside of work. While both nutrition education and financial literacy are certainly skills that everyone should have, it is important to remember that they are not root causes of hunger. They are minor strategies we can use to empower people experiencing hunger, but truly effective solutions recognize that hunger is a systemic problem, and effective solutions will not address it on an individual level.  

How My Body Taught Me That Food Choices Matter

To honor my holiday vacation, I’m reposting this blog from April, 2023.

Eight years ago in mid-December, I checked myself into the ER. It turned out that my appendix had burst approximately three months prior, with all the complications that accompany a life-threatening infection. I spent 12 days in the hospital and had two surgeries before moving in with my mom for an additional month because I was too weak to take care of myself on my own.

I endured a year of slow recovery before something triggered my system that suddenly gave me near-debilitating arthritis and an increased sensitivity to foods. Over the next six months I slowly just stopped eating because being hungry was preferable to the pain, depression and fatigue that accompanied digestion.

Some foods hurt me worse than others, and I eventually reached the point where I ate little besides cabbage and avocados. I felt like I was dragging my body through the heaviest mud imaginable, and nothing could lighten the weight.  

I tried every diet I could find, was dismissed and mistreated by numerous doctors, penalized at work for talking to HR about taking medical leave, and was starting to panic that the future I envisioned might never materialize as my body continued to fail.

Through random chance, someone recommended a diet plan that excluded foods containing the lectin protein in seeds that are hard on sensitive digestive systems. It proposed eliminating all grains, fruits, and grain-fed animal products along with any preservatives. Within four days of starting this new plan, I began to feel better. I’ve now been following this diet for five years and in many ways have been able to return to the life I hoped for.

I became an anti-hunger advocate and food justice champion long before I got sick. I was already committed to making food a fun and communal experience rather than just a vehicle for nutrition.

But over the last five years of learning how sensitive my body is to my food choices, my understanding of food insecurity has changed dramatically.

My quality of life is entirely determined by my diet- how well I sleep, how much energy I have, my focus at work, and my capacity to manage emotional burdens. And my understanding of my nutritional needs is constantly changing and evolving.

I’m lucky to have always been able to afford and prepare the food I need. I could buy artichokes, sardines, and radicchio, all foods which at one time held an important role in my recovery.

But I know that if I was dependent on a food pantry or SNAP benefits for my nutrition, I would still be miserably sick. My diet would be determined by the options available, rather than by what my body needed.

I know that if I allowed someone else to determine what foods I eat- even someone well-educated in nutrition- they would not get it right. Everyone knows their own needs best, and my role working in food pantries is to facilitate that as best as I can.

Many people experiencing food insecurity have never had the opportunity to make intuitive food choices before. The food they eat is determined by what they can afford or what the food pantry is able to give them. I don’t want anyone else to ever be as sick as I was, so I am committed to ensuring that people facing food insecurity can choose what and how much they want to eat.

There are still times where I rage about the things my illness has taken from me- the freedom to eat out at a restaurant without scrutinizing the menu, the enjoyment of a good whiskey, or eating pizza with my partner.

But upon reflection, I also see that it has given me invaluable experience and the tools I need for being a better anti-hunger advocate and helping my food pantry always do better for the people we serve.

The opinions expressed here are solely my own and do not express the views or opinions of my employer.

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What You Believe About Food Pantries: Is Any of it True?

When the Covid lockdown first began, the government recognized that millions of workplaces shutting down would astronomically increase hunger rates across the U.S. Accompanying the literally miles-long lines of cars at drive-through food bank distributions, the USDA provided extra dollars to SNAP benefits (formerly known as Food Stamps) which have been essential for keeping millions of families fed over the past three years. On March 1, the last of these additional benefits will expire. The end of this program will reduce the amount of money for food by approximately $95 per person per month. (Citation)

Facing rising costs of living and devastating inflation, more people than ever have no other option than to visit their neighborhood food pantry to keep their family fed. Hunger assistance programs are bracing themselves for massively increased attendance, especially among first-time clients.

To ensure that everyone feels welcome, we as anti-hunger activists, social justice warriors, and compassionate neighbors need to examine what biases we may carry about hunger that negatively influence our work.

Particularly in America, there is a strong stigma against using welfare, even among those who implement and support essential programs like food assistance. Poverty is a result of inequitable opportunity, but that is an uncomfortable reality for a culture that preaches equality for all. That’s why discourse on welfare and food assistance tends to revolve around who we believe deserves this help instead.

We all need food to survive. When we implement systems or policies based on who we believe deserves access to food, we make a radical statement about who deserves to live- and who doesn’t.

Effective anti-hunger efforts must begin by embracing the idea that everyone deserves to eat, and examining all the ways we can live this ideal. In future posts, I will discuss actionable opportunities for implementing this concept in food pantries, but I want to start by examining what assumptions we may have about individuals who use emergency food assistance.

What are some of the most common biases about food pantry clients?

1. People use food pantries when they don’t need to.

No one waits in line for an hour in January for a couple of grocery bags of discarded food if they don’t have to. No matter how hard we work to make it better, the process of using a food pantry is uncomfortable, humbling, and undignified. No one uses these services unless they must. It’s essential to reflect on whether you or your anti-hunger peers unconsciously believe otherwise, because it may impact how you serve those who come to you for help.

2. People should only use food pantries if they can’t afford their own food.

If hunger were only about food, it would be so much easier to solve! Unfortunately, having money for food is indelibly intertwined with the cost of housing, healthcare, and transportation. Spending on food is more flexible than these fixed costs, which means it is often the first thing to be sacrificed.  Food pantry clients may have money in their bank account- budgeted to pay their rent and utilities, medical prescriptions, fuel costs, or even shoes for their growing children. Just because someone can technically afford to buy food doesn’t mean that they should if our end goal is a healthy, stable community.

3. Food pantries are only for the unemployed.

Most food pantry clients have at least one household member who is employed. However, families are often restricted by childcare responsibilities, disability and health challenges, or transportation limitations which can all make it hard to find a job that pays a living wage. Although unemployment is dropping, too many people are still underemployed and not able to support themselves no matter how hard they work or how many jobs they have.

4. Poverty is static.

I regularly encounter volunteers or donors who are surprised to see a nice car in the parking lot or a client with a new iPhone. The American concept of poverty assumes that if someone experiencing poverty owns something nice or expensive, it must be because they make irresponsible financial decisions. It is none of our business to judge how our clients spend their money, but…

People often experience poverty and hunger in phases throughout their lifetime. All it takes is one medical bill or job loss before someone who considered themselves financially comfortable may require the services of a food pantry. Conversely, a promotion or completion of an educational degree may support a previously struggling household. There are endless possibilities for why someone needs a food pantry, whether it’s a one-time visit or for long-term use.

As anti-hunger advocates, it’s important to recognize these (often unconscious) biases that may impact how we welcome clients, what and how much food we allow them to take, and the dignity of the process.

There are many, many actions steps that food pantries can make to improve the experience for their shoppers, but they all depend on the organization wholeheartedly embracing the idea that everyone deserves to eat.

Overlooked Opportunities for Ending Hunger

There is incredible energy in the anti-hunger movement right now.

New programs and models have blossomed and thrived over the last two years of the pandemic, developing new strategies for helping our neighbors be a little more food secure. Data continues to confirm that policy and systemic change are the most effective strategies for lifting communities out of food insecurity. However, sometimes these big picture visions and idealistic strategies neglect the just-as-essential work that is being done to support individuals.

Food pantries do not often have a positive reputation- they may be degrading to clients, they don’t meet individual needs, or they have such limited capacity that their impact feels negligible. Because of this, the “big picture thinkers” like food banks and policy makers tend to focus their solutions beyond the scope of neighborhood food pantries.

I believe that it is possible to build a food pantry that can be part of the big picture.

As an experienced anti-hunger advocate, I’ve run multiple food pantries, worked with several food banks, and have extensive experience addressing the root causes of hunger. I believe that it’s possible to create a new kind of experience for people facing food insecurity. I have many strategies, techniques and experiences that demonstrate how visiting a food pantry can become a positive experience, where cultural identities are respected, and where individuals can develop a sense of stability. This blog intends to showcase how much potential food pantries have to fight food insecurity and to play a part in the bigger picture of ending hunger.

The opinions expressed here are solely my own and do not express the views or opinions of my employer.