Help Convert Food Insecurity to Food Dignity

 “If they are really hungry, they’ll eat anything.” This was a quote that was said to me when I began requesting specific items for a food pantry I was running at a local university. I received push back from colleagues when I asked for brand named items, gluten-free products, and snacks for students. My students weren’t “hungry” per se, they were “food insecure” and I believe in food dignity.

Food insecurity is defined by the United States Department of Agriculture as the lack of access, at times, to enough food for an active, healthy life. It’s when someone may have to make a difficult choice between paying their heating bill, or buying milk for their children’s cereal. They may choose to skip lunch because they need to put gas in their car to get to work. It's a big problem in the United States, where 47 million people experience food insecurity annually. In 2022, 14% of Luzerne County was reported as food insecure, with 22% being children. That’s more than 1 in 5 children in this county are food insecure.

Some causes of food insecurity include poverty, unemployment, food deserts (living where there aren't many stores that sell healthy food at a good price), lack of affordable housing, having a chronic health condition (making it harder to work or having high medical bills), and racism and discrimination (marginalized communities, including people of color, LGTBQ individuals, and those with disabilities, are at higher risk of food insecurity due to systemic discrimination and poverty.)

“Food dignity” supports and honors everyone’s right to nourishing food. “Choice” food pantries and SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) are two ways to provide food dignity. Having a stocked food pantry with quality items that people need and want can reduce the shame that often accompanies food insecurity. Growing up in rural Upstate New York, my family received SNAP (commonly referred to as food stamps) for most of my childhood, in addition to receiving free/reduced lunch at school. I was not aware of the support we received until I was an adult, and can’t imagine how my parents would have been able to feed us otherwise.

Among the harmful proposals from Republican lawmakers is an emerging push to require states to pay a portion of SNAP food benefit costs to help pay for tax cuts for the wealthiest business owners and households. Pennsylvania would have had to pay almost $427 million last year to ensure that families didn’t lose food benefits, which is about 1.5 times what that state spends on its entire community college system or about twice what it spends annually on environmental protection programs.

So what’s our call to action? It’s frustrating that our representatives in Congress don’t seem to be listening, but that doesn’t mean we should stop calling or writing. I personally recommend a website and app called “5 Calls,” which directly links you with your representatives and provides topics and scripts. If you are more of a behind the scenes person, be aware of what you are donating to the UU’s food pantry or other pantries. Pay attention to their requests for specific items and whenever possible, donate food that supports the ideas around food dignity.  Thank you.

5 Calls -- Calling your congressperson is the most effective way to influence policy.