This is the first article in a special series for The Covington News looking at food insecurity in our community by Hosanna Fletcher.
How appropriate that we start a new series looking at food insecurity in our community this month… September is Hunger Action Month. Nowadays every day and every month celebrates something. According to the National Day Calendar website, Sept. 13 is National Peanut Day and September is National Courtesy Month. While fun, these observations don’t actually mean anything. Hunger Action Month does.
Food Insecurity (when people don’t have enough to eat and don’t know where their next meal will come from) is in every state and every county. Across the nation, 47 million people are food insecure - that means 13.5% of the U.S. population at any given time. That is the equivalent to one-in-seven people.
The Feeding America network is the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization. For 40 years, Feeding America has partnered with local food banks and volunteers, working towards building a nation where everyone has the food and support they need. They have a three pronged approach: (1) Feeding America works with the food industry to rescue food that would otherwise go to waste; (2) Network food banks collect, store, and distribute food to local pantries and meal programs; and (3) The network’s food pantries and meal programs distribute food to their communities. It is top down structure to feed individuals across the nation.
This network is wide and vast and includes partners in every state. Here in Georgia, specifically North Georgia, Feeding America partners with the Atlanta Community Food Bank which in turn partners with five local food banks here in Newton County.
All that might be interesting, but why should you care?
Food insecurity is also not always visible or obvious. Maybe food insecurity comes suddenly (and we hope temporary) with a change to someone’s life — a loss of job or an illness. Sometimes food insecurity has happened to a person or family over a long period so that it has simply become a way of life.
The one person in seven could be a family member or someone you work with or someone you go to church with. That one person could be your son’s best friend or someone from your granddaughter’s class at school. That one person could be your neighbor, literally or figuratively. Food insecurity crosses all boundaries, lines and categories. As many food banks and food pantries repeat: hunger can affect anyone, but anyone can affect hunger.
The goal of Hunger Action Month, according to its sponsor Feeding America, is inspire and empower people to take concrete steps to end the hunger crisis. These includes advocating, volunteering and donating. This month we will focus on advocating.
Advocate. It is an active verb meaning “to speak or act in favor of.” Seek out information on food insecurity and the impact that it has on people. Don’t remain silent on this social problem any longer.
Many think that the only way to advocate is through political or lobbying efforts. And, true, these are important efforts for addressing policy on food insecurity. But advocacy is so much more than that and can start right here, right now, with you.
Find out about food pantries in your neighborhood or at your church. Reach out to the volunteers there - praise them and their pantry and then highlight them on your reels.
Do you know a local business or grocery store that has done (or is doing) a food drive? Tell them how important what they are doing is and how much they are appreciated in this community. And then share that do-gooding with your friends, family and neighbors.
As we move into fall weather, consider the color orange as more than a hue of the season. Wear orange clothing or accessories and share your support on social media using hashtags like #HungerActionMonth and #EndHungerNow to help raise awareness.
Do you have books taking up space on your bookshelf? Donate them to the local Food For Thought program. Book donations are taken at Antiques and Stuff year-round. These books are then sold back to the community with funds directly benefiting the Giving Hands Food Pantry. And then get your family members and book club friends to do the same. The next semi-annual Food for Thought Book Sale will be Saturday, Oct. 4 on the porch of Antiques and Stuff.
The more we talk about ending hunger, the more awareness we raise. The more we act in support of ending hunger, the more awareness we raise. And the more awareness we raise, the easier it becomes to solve a problem together.
So while we might not do much for National Indoor Plant Week or National Cream Filled Donut Day (which is Sunday), we can do a lot for our community if we decide to take action against hunger. Action starts with advocating and advocacy starts with us.
Hosanna Fletcher believes in the power of community and has worked in nonprofits, government and for-profits serving the community for the last 20 years. She is a faculty member at Georgia State University and works with the Giving Hands Food Pantry on Community Outreach. To reach Hosanna, please email community@covingtonfirst.org.
