Here's the latest on "food insecurity" and hunger in the United States today from Daily Kos. The work we do in our Food Pantry on a daily basis keeps families, working families going in inner city Dallas. Demand is way up. Want to help? Visit http://www.citysq.org/ to lend your hand and engage your heart.
One in four Americans gets government food assistance
by Joan McCarter
Tue Nov 16, 2010 at 08:36:03 AM PST
We really don't need more austerity right now in America.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that in 2009, nearly 50 million Americans -- 15 percent of U.S. families -- were "food insecure," meaning they were "uncertain of having, or unable to acquire, enough food to meet the needs of all their family members" -- either they didn't have enough money or lacked other resources to buy food. One in 10 families with children worried about food at some point in the year. Between 500,000 and 1 million families were so strapped the children had to go without eating at some point....
The United States is increasingly a safety-net nation, with one in four Americans now enrolled in one of the 15 federal feeding programs. Forty-two million people currently receive monthly benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, more commonly known as food stamps. That's up by 10 million from a year ago....
Feeding America, an organization that runs a nationwide network of food banks and bills itself as "the nation's leading domestic hunger-relief charity," said the number of people seeking help from its food banks has increased 46 percent over the past four years, from 25 million to 37 million.
This is just one part of why every reputable poll in the past two years has shown jobs and the economy far and away the most important issue for Americans. Food insecurity has reached deep into the working and middle classes. These people have had their fill of austerity in trying to conduct their daily lives. The last thing they need is their government imposing more on them.
To visit this site click here.
What can you do today to help a neighbor?
1) Organize a food drive in your neighborhood, church, school or community group and bring what you collect to 409 N. Haskell in Dallas, Texas.
2) Even better, make a check payable to CitySquare with a note in the Memo line: "food products." We will go to the North Texas Food Bank and obtain food for a shared maintanence fee of about 20 cents per pound, much more than you can buy in a retail store.
3) Raise the issue of domestic hunger and food insecurity in your circle of influence.
4) Come down for a visit at our Food Pantry and observe and hear the need first hand.
Showing posts with label North Texas Food Bank. Show all posts
Showing posts with label North Texas Food Bank. Show all posts
Friday, November 19, 2010
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
Hunger: We Must Do More and Better
Editorial: Texas must fight hunger all year
04:00 PM CST on Monday, November 23, 2009
While millions of Texas households prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving with a hearty family meal, millions of their fellow Texans aren't sure when or how they'll get their next meal.
"Texans should be shocked that a state as prosperous as Texas is doing so poorly," says the state's agriculture commissioner, Republican Todd Staples.
According to federal statistics released last week, 16.3 percent of Texas households lack regular access to adequate nutrition or face hunger nightly. The percentage of so-called "food insecure" households in Texas is more than 4 points higher than the national average of 12.2 percent, ranking Texas ahead of only Mississippi. In these households, people regularly skip meals, eat cheaper and less nutritious foods, depend on government aid like food stamps or seek help from food pantries.
The recession can be blamed for only part of Texas' misery; it rated an abysmal 15.2 percent of "food insecure" households a decade ago, when its economy was booming. Now, says Jan Pruitt, executive director of the North Texas Food Bank, member agencies are seeing about 36 percent more new food recipients and distributing 50 percent more food each week.
The food bank readily accepts contributions in food and money all year, but Pruitt says eradicating hunger also requires such comprehensive strategies as making sure the needy, especially those with children, receive food stamps and other assistance.
Texans can confront hunger in small and large ways. A few hopeful signs emerged at a hunger summit in Waco last week. Led by the Texas Hunger Initiative, a coalition of federal, state and local agencies agreed to campaign to make sure Texas schoolchildren don't go hungry during the summer when subsidized breakfasts and lunches are less accessible. Churches, youth organizations and school districts will be asked next month to help get food to the 2.5 million school-age children eligible for summer feeding programs. Likewise, Staples will issue a similar anti-hunger challenge to mayors across Texas.
Hunger has been with us forever and will stay with us until enough people insist that it will not continue. It's good to hear more voices shouting this message.
People don't choose to be hungry, which is why prosperous Texans shouldn't ignore others' suffering when the holiday season ends. It's honorable to volunteer at food banks or to write a check to provide food for the needy, but eventually Texans must come to grips with the reality that this state's dismal record on combating hunger is getting worse.
Fighting Texas hunger
•Donate food and cash to the North Texas Food Bank or its member agencies. For contribution details, go to www.ntfb.org or call (214) 330-1396. Or visit http://www.centraldallasministries.org/ and donate online.
•Urge Texas legislators to support efforts to provide food stamps and other programs to needy families, especially those with children. Only a small portion of eligible recipients in Texas currently participate in food stamp and summer feeding programs. For contact info go to http://www.legis.state.tx.us/
•Contact the Texas Hunger Initiative and ask how you can help. For more information, go to www.baylor.edu/texashunger/ or call 254-710-3704.
What's The Big Story? Find out at dallasnews.com/opinion
04:00 PM CST on Monday, November 23, 2009
While millions of Texas households prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving with a hearty family meal, millions of their fellow Texans aren't sure when or how they'll get their next meal.
"Texans should be shocked that a state as prosperous as Texas is doing so poorly," says the state's agriculture commissioner, Republican Todd Staples.
According to federal statistics released last week, 16.3 percent of Texas households lack regular access to adequate nutrition or face hunger nightly. The percentage of so-called "food insecure" households in Texas is more than 4 points higher than the national average of 12.2 percent, ranking Texas ahead of only Mississippi. In these households, people regularly skip meals, eat cheaper and less nutritious foods, depend on government aid like food stamps or seek help from food pantries.
The recession can be blamed for only part of Texas' misery; it rated an abysmal 15.2 percent of "food insecure" households a decade ago, when its economy was booming. Now, says Jan Pruitt, executive director of the North Texas Food Bank, member agencies are seeing about 36 percent more new food recipients and distributing 50 percent more food each week.
The food bank readily accepts contributions in food and money all year, but Pruitt says eradicating hunger also requires such comprehensive strategies as making sure the needy, especially those with children, receive food stamps and other assistance.
Texans can confront hunger in small and large ways. A few hopeful signs emerged at a hunger summit in Waco last week. Led by the Texas Hunger Initiative, a coalition of federal, state and local agencies agreed to campaign to make sure Texas schoolchildren don't go hungry during the summer when subsidized breakfasts and lunches are less accessible. Churches, youth organizations and school districts will be asked next month to help get food to the 2.5 million school-age children eligible for summer feeding programs. Likewise, Staples will issue a similar anti-hunger challenge to mayors across Texas.
Hunger has been with us forever and will stay with us until enough people insist that it will not continue. It's good to hear more voices shouting this message.
People don't choose to be hungry, which is why prosperous Texans shouldn't ignore others' suffering when the holiday season ends. It's honorable to volunteer at food banks or to write a check to provide food for the needy, but eventually Texans must come to grips with the reality that this state's dismal record on combating hunger is getting worse.
Fighting Texas hunger
•Donate food and cash to the North Texas Food Bank or its member agencies. For contribution details, go to www.ntfb.org or call (214) 330-1396. Or visit http://www.centraldallasministries.org/ and donate online.
•Urge Texas legislators to support efforts to provide food stamps and other programs to needy families, especially those with children. Only a small portion of eligible recipients in Texas currently participate in food stamp and summer feeding programs. For contact info go to http://www.legis.state.tx.us/
•Contact the Texas Hunger Initiative and ask how you can help. For more information, go to www.baylor.edu/texashunger/ or call 254-710-3704.
What's The Big Story? Find out at dallasnews.com/opinion
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
Food
Food is important.I take it that you've noticed that, right?
It is especially important if you find yourself in a situation where it is not available to you or your loved ones.
These days more and more people are coming to us for help with their nutrition needs. Most are from working families. All attempt to make it on very low, inadequate income resources. Some work at more than one job. Many are elderly neighbors and children, beautiful children.
For years we've struggled to provide enough food to these growing numbers of people who need help with their grocery costs. While we have served more people than any other organization in town, we haven't been the leader in quantity of nutritious food products delivered. The leader in Dallas when it comes to pounds distributed and quality of food products is Crossroads Community Services (CCS), an outreach ministry of First United Methodist Church located in Downtown Dallas.
Rev. Jay Cole serves as the Executive Director for CCS. I'm very proud to say that Jay spent time with us at CDM as an intern while at Perkins School of Theology. While he was with us, he taught us more than we taught him!
Jay has developed the most innovative system for food distribution in the city, possibly in the nation. His plan links individual and family food selection to a number of indicators, including family size, lifestyles and health indicators. Jay's system is tied directly to the U. S. Department of Agriculture's new food needs pyramid.
Earlier this year CCS and CDM worked out the details of a collaborative partnership to do even more in response to the food needs of low-income neighbors in Dallas. Some of the improvements resulting from our new connection include the fact that we order food from the North Texas Food Bank (NTFB) together in a joint, collaboration account. Together we are serving more people than we were apart. CDM has adopted the CCS database and reporting model, as well as the food selection methodology and we are now distributing twice as much food product as before we the new relationship.
In the future we hope to develop an expanded network of food distribution sites that link up with smaller organizations across the city in an attempt to cooperate with our partners at NTFB. We are feeling very optimistic about our future.I'm grateful for CCS and Jay Cole and his entire team. I'm also very thankful for all that Keith Ackerman has done on the CDM side to establish and solidify the new relationship. Of course, none of this would have been possible on our side without the hard work and positive, cooperative attitude of Agapito Perez, the Director of the CDM Resource Center. He has the new, bulked up system working like a well-oiled machine.
We hope to respond to the pressing, extremely important food needs of our neighbors no matter how severe they may become.
If you'd like to help us, give me a call!
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Sad facts of life in Texas. . .
Jan Pruitt, President and CEO of the North Texas Food Bank and a key national player in the Feeding America, network of food banks, sent me a briefing paper (part of which follows below) that will inform some of our "educational efforts" with our legislators during their 2009 session.
Hunger is a huge challenge in Texas.
Food quality and health go hand-in-hand.
We've got to find ways to do more and to do better.
Consider our reality.
Obesity:
1 in 5 Texas children is medically obese. Many others suffer from overweight. As these children age, they will raise the number of obese Texas adults to 46.8%, contributing to a statewide annual cost to employers of $3.3 billion.
Hunger:
1 in 4 Texas children lives in a household without enough food. These children are more likely to have cognitive, motor, emotional and behavioral problems, multiple health deficiencies and poor grades. As these children age, they will exhibit lowered productivity and increased health care costs, contributing to a statewide annual cost of $9.8 billion.
The Link:
Hunger, poverty and overweight among children have been positively linked in Texas and nationally. Thirty-one percent of low-income Texans report being unable to feed their children balanced meals ―sometimes or often. Without the means to purchase enough food, families adopt coping mechanisms, like reducing the quality of food purchased. This strategy makes financial sense: nutritious, fresh, unprocessed foods cost more than ten times the price of energy-dense junk foods on a per-calorie basis. As a result, families served by the Texas Food Bank Network spend an average of $466 less on healthy foods annually compared to the average Texas family.
Considering the "return on our investment" in the health and well-being of children and families ought to prompt us to action out of our own enlightened and pragmatic self-interest, leaving aside the humanitarian and ethical factors that should also be involved. Sometimes it seems to me that we just don't get it.
.
Hunger is a huge challenge in Texas.
Food quality and health go hand-in-hand.
We've got to find ways to do more and to do better.
Consider our reality.
Obesity:
1 in 5 Texas children is medically obese. Many others suffer from overweight. As these children age, they will raise the number of obese Texas adults to 46.8%, contributing to a statewide annual cost to employers of $3.3 billion.
Hunger:
1 in 4 Texas children lives in a household without enough food. These children are more likely to have cognitive, motor, emotional and behavioral problems, multiple health deficiencies and poor grades. As these children age, they will exhibit lowered productivity and increased health care costs, contributing to a statewide annual cost of $9.8 billion.
The Link:
Hunger, poverty and overweight among children have been positively linked in Texas and nationally. Thirty-one percent of low-income Texans report being unable to feed their children balanced meals ―sometimes or often. Without the means to purchase enough food, families adopt coping mechanisms, like reducing the quality of food purchased. This strategy makes financial sense: nutritious, fresh, unprocessed foods cost more than ten times the price of energy-dense junk foods on a per-calorie basis. As a result, families served by the Texas Food Bank Network spend an average of $466 less on healthy foods annually compared to the average Texas family.
Considering the "return on our investment" in the health and well-being of children and families ought to prompt us to action out of our own enlightened and pragmatic self-interest, leaving aside the humanitarian and ethical factors that should also be involved. Sometimes it seems to me that we just don't get it.
.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Join our fast today. . .
According to the 2006 census, there are almost 400,000 individuals living below the federal poverty line in Dallas County!
Of these, over 160,000 are children.
Further, Texas is "Number 1" in the nation for the percentage of families who deal with hunger or "food insecurity" over the course of a year.
In response to the reality that surrounds us every day, Central Dallas Ministries invites you to join us in promoting Community Hunger Day TODAY, Monday, October 27.
Embedded in our mission and our history is the understanding that meeting the basic, most pressing needs of our neighbors opens a doorway to community development and renewal.
Over the past twenty years, access to nutrious food has always been a big part of what concerns us.
Please visit ouir special site at http://www.communityhungerday.org/ to join hundreds of other people who care about hunger, as well as raising awareness and much-needed resources for the ongoing battle to wipe it out!
Here's what you'll find
By taking advantage of our extremely user-friendly template on the website, you will be able to set up your own personal fundraising page for CDM!
You'll be able to invite your community of friends, associates, family members, neighbors to join you in a fast TODAY. You'll also be able to challenge your community to give generously to help CDM provide food for people who need it. Plan to contribute what you save by not eating.
Of these, over 160,000 are children.
Further, Texas is "Number 1" in the nation for the percentage of families who deal with hunger or "food insecurity" over the course of a year.
In response to the reality that surrounds us every day, Central Dallas Ministries invites you to join us in promoting Community Hunger Day TODAY, Monday, October 27.
Embedded in our mission and our history is the understanding that meeting the basic, most pressing needs of our neighbors opens a doorway to community development and renewal.
Over the past twenty years, access to nutrious food has always been a big part of what concerns us.
Please visit ouir special site at http://www.communityhungerday.org/ to join hundreds of other people who care about hunger, as well as raising awareness and much-needed resources for the ongoing battle to wipe it out!
Here's what you'll find
By taking advantage of our extremely user-friendly template on the website, you will be able to set up your own personal fundraising page for CDM!
You'll be able to invite your community of friends, associates, family members, neighbors to join you in a fast TODAY. You'll also be able to challenge your community to give generously to help CDM provide food for people who need it. Plan to contribute what you save by not eating.
Your sacrifice will allow others to have the food they need.
Each dollar donated through this effort will supply one of our neighbors with 6 nutrious meals!
Here's the exciting part about the strength achieved via community: we believe there are at least 2,000 individuals willing to reach out to 10 other people and ask for a $50 commitment from each of them on Community Hunger Day.
The amazing result we believe is possible: $1,000,000.00 raised to fight hunger!
Please join us TODAY.
Go to the website now!
Please let me know if you intend to help out.
.
Each dollar donated through this effort will supply one of our neighbors with 6 nutrious meals!
Here's the exciting part about the strength achieved via community: we believe there are at least 2,000 individuals willing to reach out to 10 other people and ask for a $50 commitment from each of them on Community Hunger Day.
The amazing result we believe is possible: $1,000,000.00 raised to fight hunger!
Please join us TODAY.
Go to the website now!
Please let me know if you intend to help out.
.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)