Starting the Conversation About Hunger in America
When you look across the web, you’ll find that there’s very little information or dialogue about hunger in the United States. We at Feeding America are setting out to remedy that with this new blog, where our team of contributors will share news and perspectives on one of our nation’s most significant yet solvable issues.
The numbers
The latest data from the United States Department of Agriculture shows that nearly 49 million Americans experience “food insecurity” each year – that is, they’re not sure where they’ll find their next meal. That staggering number includes nearly 17 million children.
We talk all the time to people who are shocked or in completely disbelief that these numbers could be accurate. After all, the United States is a nation of abundance, obesity rates are high, and our federal feeding programs are relatively strong. But it’s all of these things that mask the magnitude of the problem.
How we work
Feeding America is a nationwide network of more than 200 food banks, which in turn support 61,000 charitable feeding agencies in every community across the country. We provide food to 37 million people each year. Our goal is simple: provide enough food to the nation’s charitable feeding system so that any person in our country who wants a meal can have one.
Ours is a nation of abundance, and it’s into that power that our network taps. We draw on the generosity of the nation’s food manufacturers and retailers to acquire safe and healthy food that would otherwise go to waste. Complemented by financial support from the general public, we’re able to acquire and distribute more than 3 billion pounds of food each year.
Hunger can be invisible
Most everyone is familiar with the tragic images of hunger and starvation in other parts of the world, and we salute our peer nonprofit organizations that are rising to meet that need. But because hunger in America looks different—it’s hidden in the worries of a single mother who is worried about how she will find food for her family tonight, in the heart-rending choice a senior citizen has to make between paying for food or medical care, and in the eyes of a child who doesn’t understand why her father skips dinner every night so that she and her siblings can eat.
Starting the Conversation
Ours is a solvable problem. Here on the Feeding America blog, staff members from the national office and other guest contributors will shed light on the plight of Americans in need and the numerous factors that both contribute to and remedy domestic hunger. In doing so, we’re hoping to start a new conversation—online and offline—about how we can help our neighbors in need.
We’re always interested in your thoughts – send an email to blog@feedingamerica.org to let us know what you think about hunger in America, Feeding America, reactions to this blog, or suggestions for future items we should cover.