By Aaron Allen, The Seattle Medium
Currently, the USDA reports that more than 34 million people, including 9 million children, experience food insecurity in the United States. While this can be a temporary situation for some families, the fact remains that many families lack access to “enough food for every person in a household to live an active, healthy life.”
According to the latest research on food insecurity and assistance by the University of Washington and Washington State University, residents in Washington state continue to experience a dramatically higher level of food insecurity due to COVID — from 10 percent before the COVID-19 pandemic to 27 percent – in recent years.
Andrea Caupain Sanderson, CEO of Byrd Barr Place, a local non-profit organization that operates a food bank in Seattle’s Central Area, says the need in the area is great when it comes to food insecurity.
“We have over 1 million people living in Washington state in or near food desserts and people living at or below the poverty line who cannot afford to feed themselves,” says Caupain Sanderson. “Whether this is episodic or continuous – it constitutes food insecurity.”
Unfortunately, tens of thousands of people in America struggle to meet their basic needs which increases their risk of food insecurity. From an accident on the job, lay-offs at work, emergencies, illnesses, an unexpected car maintenance, such adversities can suddenly force families into choosing between paying bills or buying food.
The causes of food insecurity are complex. Some of the causes of food insecurity include poverty, unemployment, low income, lack of affordable housing, the lack of good public policies, chronic health conditions or lack of access to healthcare, and systemic racism and racial discrimination.
“There are common factors that are used to determine food insecurity,” says Glen Turner, Executive Director of the Emergency Feeding Program of Seattle & King County. “Basically, it is based on homelessness and what the poverty lines are. First, we view the poverty levels and then there is the insecure homeless and most of the folks are either the working poor or they are just kind of stranded out there, so these things are always factored in in assessing food insecurity as far as the federal government is concerned.”
“As far as we are concerned food insecurity is determined by whoever is hungry,” continued Turner. “It doesn’t matter. If you do not have the means to purchase your food, take care of your family in that way, then you are a part of food insecurities.”
According to advocates, food insecurity can have a wide impact, depending on someone’s circumstances. It can cause serious health issues when people have to choose between spending money on food and medicine or healthcare. It can make it more difficult for a child to learn and grow, and it can lead to difficult decisions like choosing between food or paying for rent, bills, and/or transportation.
Part of what makes food insecurity so difficult to solve is that the underlying causes — poverty, unemployment/under-employment, and inconsistent access to enough healthy food — are often deeply interconnected. Moving in and out of food insecurity simply adds more stress to a household that may already be wrestling with instability and unpredictability.
Data shows that food insecurity is more likely to wreak havoc on some communities than others. For example, Black and Hispanic Americans, in particular, are disproportionately affected. According to the USDA, 19.1% of Black households and 15.6% of Hispanic households experienced food insecurity in 2019. White Americans fell below the national average with 7.9% experiencing food insecurity.
According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, one in nine people in the U.S. (38 million) used the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP also known as food stamps) in 2019.
According to Turner, inflation and the current state of the economy have made it difficult for local food banks to keep up with the growing demands of food insecurity.
“The level of food that’s being distributed only accounts or two meals, so the cost of food is contributed to a lot to the amount of food that can be given to a person or family,” says Turner.
“These are the things that are important,” Turner continued. “The level of donations is down so these challenges are something we are all experiencing in the food network. My take is that we have to start looking at it in a sense of community survival, we have to get out of our sylos and reach out and help someone else. I think once we get into the mindset that we are a village and not individuals things will be a lot better especially on the food end.”
Community cohesiveness, empathy and the idea that it takes a village are some of the ideals food banks and the food network must take into account as they continue to navigate the challenges and provide access to food for those in need.
“Our programs help to stabilize people’s lives, provide predictability and stability through food and nutrition,” says Caupain Sanderson. “We are trusted centers and a gateway to other needed social services.”
“I trully believe we have to act as a village,” says Turner. “We are only as strong as our weakest link. Right now we have a lot of people living on the street, a lot of people that are in a food secure situation, that are living in food desserts, challenged with the price and cost of goods these days.”
“I only hope and pray that there is some turnaround, for someone to step in and say ‘hey we need to re-energize our economy’ and start serving those who are less served and we can’t continue to keep raising prices on things and expect to find balance anywhere,” added Turner. “We have to find ways to moderate [food prices] and find a way to help folks get back on their feet. We need to find another way to do business.”
