Wednesday, December 1, 2021

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS: Food Insecurity

Food Security definition:  the state of having reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food.

 


A recent solicitation arrived in the mail from Dare to Care, a food bank in Louisville, Kentucky. This organization has a huge warehouse on the south side of Louisville where fresh and perishable foods along with canned goods with long shelf lives are loaded into trucks for distribution to church pantries, school backpack blessings programs, and emergency centers helping local residents meet their basic needs for food.

Children shouldn’t go hungry.  But many do. 

Food insecurity is real for millions of Americans. If you work full-time earning the federal minimum wage ($7.25/hour), you live below the federal poverty level.  In 2021, the federal poverty level for a family of four (excluding Hawaii and Alaska) is $26,500.  One wage earner in a family of four making minimum wage working 40 hours a week earns $15,080/year.

Children shouldn’t go hungry.  But many do. 

Relying on food banks will not lead Americans to long-term food security, but it is at least a short-term bandaid on our nation’s economic crisis of expecting people to meet their basic needs on less than a living wage.  Until the nation’s leaders raise the federal minimum wage for workers to a living wage, children will go hungry and families will be desperate to receive what they can get at food banks like Dare to Care. 

Children shouldn’t go hungry.  But many do. Be part of the solution.  Support your local food banks or church food pantry with a gift of money and/or your volunteer time.   

With love and kindness,

Nancy Heinrich, MPH

Founder and Wellness Architect