My interest in food justice was ignited when I learned how many people in the United States were food insecure. “Even before the pandemic hit, some 13.7 million households, or 10.5% of all U.S. households, experienced food insecurity at some point during 2019, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.” That is roughly more than 35 million Americans who were food insecure last year. That’s nearly 1 in 4 households.
So what exactly is food insecurity? Food insecurity is defined as the disruption of food intake or eating patterns because of a lack of money and other resources. While food insecurity does not necessarily mean hunger, hunger is a possible outcome of food insecurity. The Feeding America Organization defines hunger as a personal, physical sensation of discomfort.
According to the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, in Los Angeles County, 1 in 5 people who live here, may not know where their next meal is coming from. How, in one of the richest nations in the world, is there food insecurity? While that would take us into a whole other post regarding capitalism, the reasons why so many Americans find themselves food insecure include lack of income, unemployment, lack of access, as well as race and disability.
Feeding America and USDA Economic Research Department believes there are actually four categories of Food Security:
High Food Security: Households had no problems, or anxiety about, consistently accessing adequate food.
Marginal Food Security: Households had problems or anxiety at times about accessing adequate food, but the quality, variety and quantity of their food were not substantially reduced.
Low Food Security: Households reduced the quality, variety, and desirability of their diets, but the quantity of food intake and normal eating patterns were not substantially disrupted.
Very Low Food Security: At times during the year, eating patterns of one or more household members were disrupted and food intake reduced because the household lacked money or other resources for food.
There is so much out there about food insecurity and it all reveals that it really is a complex problem.
To figure out more about food insecurity, Los Angeles County has committed to various efforts. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health’s Nutrition and Physical Activity Program partnered with community based organizations, hospitals, school districts, universities, and other agencies to improve nutrition and physical activity opportunities among low-income residents. “This project sought to establish lessons learned from several agencies’ efforts to address food insecurity through implementation of a validated food insecurity screening tool in healthcare settings and establishment of a referral pathway to SNAP, SNAP-Ed classes, and local food pantries.” This research yielded mixed results due to the many uncovered barriers to reaching those in need with the current screening tool.
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. So solving for food insecurity requires solving for those issues surrounding American Capitalism mentioned earlier. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the world produces more than 1 ½ times enough food to feed everyone on the planet. This is not an issue of having enough to go around. Access to food should be a human right. While I believe that the real solution would be radicalized changes or destruction of our current systems and economic structures, there are many organizations working to help those who are food insecure right now.
Food Security Organizations to learn more about in your city and how you can help:
Local Food Bank and Distribution Centers
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