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
