The information just released by Feeding America paints a horrific picture -- the reality of hunger in America. According to the USDA, an estimated 50 million Americans are food insecure, including nearly 17 million children. It is morally reprehensible that millions of people in our own backyards and every Congressional district across this great nation of agriculture abundance struggle with not having enough to eat.
What is often overlooked amidst this tragedy is that almost half of the food insecure have incomes above the typical threshold for SNAP, formerly called food stamps, and one in three food insecure households have income above the threshold for most government nutrition programs, including free and reduced price school meals. The only option for the millions of people facing this situation is to rely on charitable assistance, such as that provided by food banks.
To some we are a curious pairing but what we have in common is a moral commitment to do our best to ensure that every man, woman and child on the planet has access to adequate, nutritious food. We are husbands, fathers, businessmen and philanthropists who have born witness to social ills around the world and recognize the moral cost of the escalating crisis of hunger in this country. There is no hiding the fact that the number of Americans who are uncertain about where their next meal may come from, or do not have access to healthy food, is at an all-time high. We are committed to helping those Americans in need of food; these are everyday people who have stumbled upon hard times and need our collective help -- now perhaps more than ever.
As we pursue our work with Feeding America, we have observed a "gap" across varying geographic populations in our country as it relates to food insecurity. Sadly, there is a growing percentage of the food insecure population that is not eligible for federal nutrition programs. The good news is that Feeding America's latest research gives voice to that gap and sets the stage for the entire country to move forward in a unified effort to eradicate hunger. This timely research released today in a study called "Map the Meal Gap," provides a quantifiable identity to the often invisible faces and plight of the 50 million food insecure across our country. It draws attention to those very vulnerable areas that experience both very high rates of food insecurity and high food costs -- 44 counties in this country fall into the top 10 percent in the nation of both of those categories. The convergence of this data, skyrocketing USDA statistics on the food insecure, and the increasing number of people that Feeding America network serves daily, highlights the profound problem we face nationwide.
Map the Meal Gap is a phenomenal tool for those active in the fight against domestic hunger at the county, state and national levels because it provides detailed data that can help local communities tackle the unique circumstances in their area. The study provides an innovative and focused lens through which hunger is redefined by looking at the gap between food insecurity and food security. It is the only study presently available that estimates food insecurity at the county level, which is tremendously important given the varied socio-economic sectors across the country. Not only does Map the Meal Gap present a "first-ever" debut of food cost variations across the nation's communities, it offers statistically valid data on the number of food insecure people by income-bands that are based on well-recognized and key factors such as unemployment, poverty, and minority status.
Map the Meal Gap affirms that hunger is much more than a matter of individual choices. County-level infrastructure (e.g., food stamp outreach, food costs, wages and employment opportunities) significantly affect the likelihood that families will become food insecure. This new data will help communities target the federal programs that best meet the needs of their community and will help communities develop public and private solutions to gaps in existing services (for example, increase mobile pantry or mobile summer food in rural areas). With the number of people experiencing hunger as high as it is, it is critical that we protect the nutrition safety net and focus on leveraging federal programs at the county level.
As we move forward collectively, each of us must be willing to share responsibilities and resources to achieve sustained results in reducing and preventing hunger and food insecurity. Today, we are calling upon everyone in America -- the business community, policy makers and the public -- to do what they can to help people battling hunger in their communities. Hunger is in each and every one of our backyards, and Feeding America's Map the Meal Gap study illuminates for the first time in history the needs of Americans facing hunger at the county level. No one should go hungry.
Visit the map at FeedingAmerica.org.
Ben Affleck, is an actor, writer, director, activist, and a member of the Feeding America Entertainment Council. Howard G. Buffett is a U.S. farmer and operates the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, a private foundation that primary supports humanitarian initiatives worldwide.
Rev. Larry Hollon: Hunger Doesn't Take a Vacation
Vicki B. Escarra: A Holistic Approach to Hunger So Our Children Can Grow
Nick Cannon: Help Stamp Out Hunger
Amy Guerrieri: Fighting Hunger in "Hidden America"
![Dogma [VHS]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51NJ5M9NX5L._SL160_.jpg)
![Good Will Hunting [VHS]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/511WJQFRDZL._SL160_.jpg)
Same could be said for the darker green in the Central/San Joaquin Valley as well-ironic isn't it.
Please note that most of those areas mentioned above while they are the leading producer of fruits and vegetable in the US most all of them are from corporate farms with absentee owners (aka Boswell Ranch [J G Boswell lives in San Marino and his offices are in Pasadena], Harris Ranch, and Paramount Farms-in violation of the Reclaimation Act) There are very few small family farms located there.
___________________________________________
Someone asked this below. The article upon which this article is based addresses this issue:
"Despite the fact that more than 37 percent of residents in Wilcox County are unable to afford enough food to feed their families, nearly 41 percent of them are obese. Nutrition experts say these statistics are not as contradictory as they may seem.
"If people are food insecure, they can often place a priority on obtaining as much food as possible for the cheapest price," said Keith Ayoob, associate professor of pediatrics at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, N.Y. So-called "value meals" at fast food restaurants seem like a good option because they offer larger portions for a few more cents.
Food insecurity "tends to result in buying cheap, processed foods richer in calories than nutrients," said Dr. David Katz, director of the Yale Universitiy Prevention Research Center in New Haven, Conn".
After working in the education system for 13 years, I've seen the children that look forward to school, so they can have two meals a day. I've also witnessed the pride of parents come before the health & welfare of their children and watched the children go hungry because of it.
Please call it what it is - our nation is starving its our citizens - it's not "food insecurity". It's an imbalance of moral values. How ridiculous that our "celebrities and United CEOs" command/demand millions for a few months work while never seeing the poor & desperate within their own families and communities.
I have family that sometimes chooses things like a Wii, Android phone, flat screen, etc. over paying the bills for basics--so runs out of funds to eat, buy gas, etc. before the next pay day. I think that is part of what you are "observing" with your comment!
For the unemployed they might have time to grow a plot of land to become partially self-sufficient. That depends on time and space to do it and ability to do it. Not everyone has a green thumb.
There are reports of "guerrilla farming" operations going on in vacant lots across America but mostly it's just rumor. Nobody really has time to grow a garden.
The Twentieth Century changed America from and agrarian society to an industrial one. The change back is overly painful if not impossible. The corporations have everyone by the short & curly's.
We are largely dependent on major companies to provide our food. Even the largest farmers market could not provide enough food for it's entire surrounding community.
Any program that can make sure that people who are working too hard to stay afloat have food for themselves and their children should be supported.
They will most certainly have the People's attention and cooperation.
The question is whether the policy makers and especially the businesses will pay real attention to it or see it as just another way to pass around the profit plate.
Finally it is not about feeding the starving masses across the world. It is about feeding our fellow Americans.
We are a nation that has so much it wastes it. Nobody here should have to see a day without a meal.
-- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autonomous_building#cite_ref-15
That's a 10 m x 10 m plot (32.8 ft x 32.8 ft = 1,075.8 ft**2) plot. A quarter acre lot has 8,640 ft**2, so you could theoretically feed a family of four on a quarter acre lot with room to spare (depending on how much surface area the house consumes). So if you're unemployed and living in a little city apartment with no yard whatsoever, you might want to consider moving out to the Styx where there's some garden space to be had and the living is cheaper anyway.
Speaking of a nation that has so much that it wastes, don't forget to build a compost pile. I see folks chucking stuff in the trash that should be landing on a compost pile. Setting out vegetable and yard waste for the trash man is like throwing away gold. Don't waste it; recycle it on the compost pile!
Map the Meal Gap is a good effort at fixing a long ignored problem.
I am not saying we should stop trying to help people around the world if we can. Good and noble efforts are can help people everywhere.
But isn't charity supposed to start at home anyway?
War, on the other hand, full speed ahead. How else do we protect our markets without all those kids wearing real boot straps? The boot straps that they pick themselves up with.
It's not as catchy as yours, but mine isn't designed to get a gun in your hand.
Per many studies, a small investment of $100 will yield around $2,500 worth of vegetables over a five month growing period. But, it's labor intensive. That simply just doesn't bode well with many.
And many areas in the south have county extensions that have free gardening and food preservation classes. That for an additional investment of around $100 for the equipment, you can learn how to preserve your home-grown bounty through canning, drying, or freezing. And not only veggies and fruits, but you can can meat also for a fraction of what you will pay on a store. With no preservatives.
But how often do you see this publicized as a public service announcement? Or a requirement to receive assistance?
And when I mention self-sufficiency, on this website in particular, the response is usually, "You're naive and moronic. It pains me to think that such an uneducated self-absorbed individual as yourself has the right to vote.”
No, I just like to eat. And not depend on the corporations or the government to do it. Because all the government does is give you money (SNAP) to hand over to the corporations for your food.
The same corporations that promotes dependence on their product.
To prevent food born illness, government inspectors need to inspect your whole growing/preserving setup. The license fee covers the inspectors, but remember to leave a little aside for the bribes if you wish to pass inspection.
If you need food, go to the nearest Christian Church and ask (try not being drunk/stoned). They will direct you to food.
Or you could rely on the government. After filling out your weight in paperwork, they'll put you on a list. When you name comes up, you can wait in line to get food. I hope you weren't very hungry, otherwise you might starve first.
If you live in the Bay Area, Night on the Street, Catholic Worker feeds people for free in the People's Park in Berkeley on Sunday morning at 7:30. J.C. Orton runs it and he will find food for any hungry people for free all week long. Similar programs run all across America.
Food is free if your willing to ask.
I'm not saying that J.C. Orton doesn't run a good place, but I don't know if his place is typical. I've also heard of food pantries that are struggling to keep up with the increased demand this recession.