Although I bleed green and white (thanks to Michigan
State football), my favorite color in September is orange. And it’s not just because
my oldest daughter is a Syracuse University incoming freshman. Orange is the
official color of Hunger Action Month. It’s also my favorite fruit, after blueberries,
but enough fun and games.
Hunger Action Month is an annual campaign of Feeding
America, a nationwide network of food banks. A dirty little secret in the
United States is that millions of fellow citizens afflicted with hunger. What’s
worse, you don’t have to travel to some remote place in the country to find it;
it’s here in town. Maybe next door. Maybe you.
It’s ironic that in a place (I’m talking America) currently
struggling with an obesity epidemic, there are also people who don’t know where
their next meal will come from. Sometimes hunger and obesity go hand in hand.
Why? In a word, poverty.
According to the Food Bank of South Central Michigan, which
serves an eight–county area, 14 percent of all people in its service area suffer
food insecurity. That is, they are uncertain from where their next meal will
come (never mind whether it’s fresh and nutritional).
What’s worse, among children, that number rises to more
than 20 percent – that’s one in five kids. The stats are even lower for Calhoun
County residents. And we wonder why some kids have such a hard time focusing on
classwork; many come to school hungry.
Ever meet a hungry person? Chances are you have or will
do so today, even though you may not be aware of it. This assumes you move in
mainstream society. The problem is that a lot of naysayers – those who claim
food that any person can access fresh nutritious food if they want it – tend to
live in a vacuum. More specifically, the ones with their heads in the sand
choose to move in ways that keep them far and away from the people in need.
Thank goodness for the aforementioned Food Bank, along
with Sprout Urban Farms, Gardening 365 at Leila Arboretum, God’s Kitchen and a
myriad of other food agencies and services around the community. There’s also
Good Food Battle Creek (GFBC), a network of individuals and organizations that promote
healthy food choices and access to good food for all people. But it’s not
enough. As GFBC coordinator, we believe our local food system is broken and are
working to help repair it.
There’s also Double Up Food Bucks from Ann Arbor-based
Fair Food Network. Germinating from a small pilot program in Detroit, Double Up
Food Bucks has blossomed into a statewide success story. In 2013 alone it’s
helped stretch the food dollars of 200,000 low-income families and supported more
than 1,000 farmers in the process. As a bonus, it’s produced more than a $5
million effect on Michigan’s economy.
Double Up Food Bucks is growing locally. Currently the
program is available through Nov. 30 at Family Fare (45 E. Columbia Ave.), and
through Oct. 31 at both Battle Creek and Springfield farmers markets as well as
the Fresh on Wheels program offered by Sprout Urban Farms.
Recently, the Food Bank hosted a meeting to unveil a
report: Hunger in America 2014. Every four years, Feeding America coordinates
the national Hunger in America Study, which ties in to the state and local
Hunger in America studies.
A key takeaway from the meeting is the need to secure
funding for expansion of fresh food distribution at food banks. But providing
fresh food alone isn’t enough. What’s also needed is nutrition education and
support. In today’s fast food society, raw food preparation is a dying art and
skill in many quarters. Let’s not allow an entire segment of our society with
it.
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