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Food security: Where is my next meal coming from?

By Mike Apfelberg - United Way of Greater Nashua | Sep 16, 2018

Have you ever had to ask the question, “Where is my next meal coming from?” For most of us, fortunately, the answer is “no.” For too many in our community, however, this is a very real question and, unfortunately, for many it is a question which gets asked every day. These people are known as “food insecure,” and that’s the topic I would like to explore a little bit with you today.

One might think that with the economy booming and unemployment rates being very low, that the issue of food security would go away. However, many of those working today are in low-wage jobs, and when combined with a lack of affordable rental housing in our community, the issue of meeting basic needs is still a real problem. As is often discussed, the demand for labor hasn’t translated in many sectors into increasing wages.

What I would like to do today is give you just a little bit of statistics and then a lot of ways in which you can make a difference. One place to start is with seniors. We are an aging community, and seniors make up an ever-increasing part of our population. For the past three or four years, the percentage of seniors in New Hampshire who are food insecure has hovered at around 10 percent. In the past year, however, that number has increased to about 12.6 percent, according to the website “America’s Health Rankings.” That is still about 2 percent less than the national average, but going in the wrong direction. To combat food insecurity in the elderly population, there are several programs which you can support. These include two of our partner agencies, St. Joseph Community Services Meals-on-Wheels and The Caregivers. Both programs focus on nutrition supports as well as social connections that can be critical for the homebound elderly. Both programs also struggle with funding and always need volunteers.

Another group which struggles with food security is women and children. Currently, about 9.6 percent of households consisting of women with children are food insecure in New Hampshire. The challenges with these households could include combining the need for expensive childcare, housing and healthcare, while still needing to work full time. There are a variety of programs which we support and that always need additional resources that can directly affect food security in this population. For example, our United Way works with several agencies for after school and early childhood programming. These include Girls Incorporated, Nashua PAL, Boys & Girls Club, the Adult Learning Center and Southern New Hampshire Services early head start. By supporting these programs, moms can work and at the same time know that their children will be educated, safe and fed. Two other programs we support that help in this area are End 68 Hours of Hunger, which utilizes donated space at United Way to run their weekend food backpack program, and the Greater Nashua Dental Connection, which provides dental care to low-income individuals of all ages, including children. You might ask why I would mention the dental connection, but when you think about hunger and food security, you also need to consider the tradeoffs that people need to make when they are low income. The economics of poverty are complex, and it is often a scenario of “heat or eat.” Again, both of these are programs that always need volunteers and financial resources.

If what I’ve shared with you, the topic of where your next meal is coming from, is something you find compelling, then there are a couple of other areas in which you might want to get involved. The first is the “Greater Nashua Food Council.” This is a brand-new collaboration that includes more than 20 different organizations, such as the Nashua Soup Kitchen, Grow Nashua, Southern New Hampshire Health, ReGenerative Roots and others. The goal of the Food Council is to work on the delivery system for healthy food in the community. My friend Michael Reinke, who is the executive director at the Nashua Soup Kitchen and Shelter, often points out that the problem in our community isn’t a lack of food. Instead, it’s an inefficient system for food distribution. One need only look at the quantity of food waste coming out of restaurants and supermarkets to understand the essential truth in this statement. By focusing on better distribution systems, not necessarily just more food, we can make a systemic improvement in food security. To learn more about the council and how to get involved, go to the Grow Nashua website and look under “Outreach Programs.”

Another way to get involved in making a difference is to spend some time learning more. A unique way to do that would be to join us at United We Sleep to End Hunger and Homelessness. The event is this Friday, Sept. 21, at the Nashua Community College. More information can be found at www.tinyurl.com/uws2018 This event raises money for all the programs I’ve talked about in today’s article, and therefore takes a holistic and systems approach to solving food security issues. It is also a great place to learn more by talking with experts from the community. Since September is “Hunger Action Month” it is only appropriate that you consider joining us this weekend at United We Sleep. Sometimes small steps are the most important ones to take. As Mother Teresa said, “If you can’t feed a hundred people, then just feed one.” Imagine if we all did that! Because Great Things Happen, When We LIVE UNITED.

Mike Apfelberg is president of United Way of Greater Nashua.

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