We Need to End Food Insecurity

How can a country with so much abundance have a situation where more than 35 million people have food security issues, where 7.2 million children and 28 million adults struggle to have enough food to eat? (Some say the numbers are higher: 47 million adults and 14 million children are food insecure; COVID definitely exasperated food insecurity greatly.)

Access to healthy foods in a country like the United States should be a basic human right, along with clean air and clean water.

Even more frightening? While poverty is still the main reason for food insecurity, more than half (56 percent) of the 18 million food insecure households have at least one adult working a full-time job. Many low-income households spend about a quarter of their income on food alone, a much higher percentage than any other income group.

Food insecurity is often defined as when a person does not have “enough food for an active, healthy life for all members of a household.”

How many times have you not known when, where, or how you would get your next meal? The next meal for your child?

But let’s zoom out even one more layer in this dangerous situation. Most of the “affordable” foods that food insecure people buy are of the cheapest quality and ingredients, ultra-processed and full of sugars, seed oils, and unnecessary chemicals. The same holds true for the foods found in most food banks. Almost 20 million people in the U.S. reside in a food desert; others live in unhealthy food swamps, and in both cases, the available foods are the worst in terms of quality and nutrition.

The last piece of this ugly puzzle is that people who are food insecure often also have issues with paying rent, childcare, healthcare, and other basics, which is why meals are often skipped.

A wonderful and lofty goal would be to find a solution so that all children and adults have access to healthy, real foods… ideally with a healthy percentage from local farms and ranches. Of course, this solution does not solve the numerous systemic issues with low-paying jobs.

Food Insecurity in Children

While all food insecurity is unfortunate and unacceptable, the impact of food insecurity on children will affect them for the rest of their lives.

An article in the journal Pediatrics from 2019 with the title “Food Insecurity and Child Health,” shares some of the outcomes of food insecurity in relation to children in food-secure homes:

• Significantly worse general health;

• Higher levels of acute and chronic health issues;

• Mental health issues, including anxiety and depression;

• Higher rates of emergency room and healthcare visits.

And it is not just about health, as food insecurity has dramatic impacts on learning and school/academic performance. Food insecurity affects children’s abilities to concentrate and retain information, as well as affect mood and motor skills.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), here are the statistics by race related to household food insecurity:

• 28% of American Indian or Alaska Native households with children were food insecure, more than double the average of all food insecure households.

• 25% of Black households with children experienced food insecurity.

• 22% of multiracial households with children were food insecure. (American Indian-white, 25%; Black-white, 20%, and other multiracial combinations, 20%.)

• 21% of Hawaiian and Pacific Islander households with children faced food insecurity.

• 20% of Latino households with children were food insecure.

Food Insecurity Solutions

What can be done to help improve this situation? Lots.

1. Joining the Healing Revolution to transform our food system. When more than two-thirds of the foods found in typical grocery stores (and much higher in low-income locations) are known to be addictive and dangerous ultra-processed foods containing added sugar, unhealthy seed oils, and unnecessary chemicals we have a major health problem. These foods are correlated with the spike in our metabolic health crisis, including diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, heart disease, strokes, cancer, and more.

2. Expanding/Improving the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which provides benefits to households and individuals struggling with food insecurity, but has serious limitations in the types of food people can buy and still encourages poor food and beverage choices over healthier options.

3. Creating more accessible and affordable healthy food production and distribution systems, such as connecting food insecure households while supporting local farmers and ranchers. Small farmers are critical because they produce the vast amount of our country’s fruits and vegetables and are facing increasing hurdles to continue operating. There are several regional nonprofits building models where farmers are paid fair prices for quality foods and delivered to food insecure households through a reinvented idea of a food bank.

4. Supporting policies and practices to reduce food deserts and swamps and regulations that encourage healthy food producers access to people and families living in these places, including pop-up food hubs or community co-ops. Economic development practices to raise up these affected areas is also important.

5. Providing free school meals of the highest quality and sourced locally – even from the schools themselves. Making all school meals free reduces the stigma and increases attendance and retention rates for food insecure students. Providing improved and healthier school meals, including locally sourced meats and produce, is a game-changer, with massive benefits for health, including reduced obesity and sick days.

6. Increasing state and federal minimum wages so that all working people have access to truly healthy and nutritious foods, including organic foods. The Federal minimum wage, set back in July 2009 and not touched since, is $7.25, but because 30 states have higher minimum wages, the effective minimum wage is about $12.

7. Lobbying for the improvement of foods available in most food banks. While food banks are often an important lifeline to many people struggling with food insecurity, the quality of the foods in many of these places is the lowest, cheapest qualities… mostly ultra-processed foods that are low in nutrition and high in sugars and bad oils.

8. Eliminating food waste. Some studies estimate that as much as 40 percent of all food is wasted and ends up in landfills. To eliminate the tons of food waste, we need better distribution methods and fairer pricing so that people can actually afford food. Some nonprofits are working to combine eliminating food waste with increasing food security.

9. Organizing local food drives, focused on real and healthy foods, in conjunction with local schools, community groups, or religious organizations. One trendy option is helping with “backpack” food programs, which provide families with free groceries for weekends and school breaks.

10. Donating to nonprofits on the front lines of poverty and food insecurity, including:

• Feeding America

• Family-to-Family

• Share Our Strength

• U.S. Hunger

• Wholesome Wave

• Meals of Hope

• Partnership for a Healthier America

• Food for Free

• The Food Trust

• Food Dignity

• Farm Link Project

• Why Hunger

• Foundation for Healthy Schools

Final Thoughts on Food Insecurity

We have our priorities backward if we celebrate the massive profits of food companies at the expense of the health of the entire population.

There has to be a major mindset shift at the highest levels to stop prioritizing profits over people – by both governments and private corporations – with a return to focusing on improving the food quality throughout the entire system, making healthy foods available to all.

People working full-time and/or multiple jobs should not have to ever experience food insecurity because of low wages, unstable work schedules, and the high costs of the rest of the household budget (housing, childcare, transportation, utilities, etc.).