Thank you all for coming today and thanks to the University ......Thank you all for coming today and...

ThankyouallforcomingtodayandthankstotheUniversityofSouthernMaine FoodStudiesprogramforhavingmehere.IwillbesharingsomeinformationabouttheproblemofhungerinMaineandtheprogramsthatexisttocombatthisproblem.

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ManyofyouhavealreadyheardthestatisticsofhungerinMaine– justover16%ofMaine householdsarefoodinsecurity,accordingto theU.S.DepartmentofAgriculture.This includes1in5children.Thisnumberhasbeenlargelyunchangedsince2010.Thisranksus9th inthecountryandthirdinthecountryforverylow foodsecurity.

OnlyAlabamaandLouisianahavehigherratesofverylowfoodsecurity.

Thesearemorethanjustsadstatistics, theyareshameful.

https://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/pub-details/?pubid=84972http://map.feedingamerica.org/county/2015/overall/maine

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Asyoucansee,Maine’sfoodinsecurityrateiswellabovethenationalandNewEnglandaveragesandtrendinginthewrongdirection.FoodinsecurityinMainehasgrown20%since2008.

Theothertrend youcanseehereisthatacrosstheboard,we’restillatlevelsoffoodinsecurityhigherthanpre-recessionlevels.

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Who ishungryinMaine?Thesearestatisticsaboutpeopleaccessingservicesatfoodpantriesacrossthestate.

Arepeopleworking?Thosewhocanworkareworking,theyarejustworkinginthelowwagejobmarket.Manypeoplestringtogethermultipleparttimejobsthatdon’tofferbenefits.We’llhearmoreaboutthislater.

Source:https://www.gsfb.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Food-Pantry-Report-2-6-171.pdf

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WhydowehavehungerinMaine?Hungerisanincomeissue,peoplearehungrybecausetheydon’tearnenoughmoneytocovertheirbasicneeds.

Maine hashighratesofunder-employment. Thedeclineinunemploymentismaskingwhatisreallyhappening– peoplestringingtogether2,sometimes3part-timejobsinordertoworkatleast40hours.Oftenearningjustoverminimumwageandwithnobenefits.

Medianincomein2017was0.1%belowthe2007level,afteradjustingforinflation.

Thisisnotaboutfood– wethrowaway40%ofourfood– thisisaboutaccess

MainealsohasHighcostsofmanyinelasticexpenses:healthcare,utilities,housing,evenfoodprices inMainearehigherthanmostofthecountry.

Thisforces peopletomakeunthinkabledecisions

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DoIheatmyhomeorbuyfood?DoIpayformymedicationorbuyfood?

Havingtomakeregulardecisionsliketheseputstoxicstressonpeoplelivinginpoverty.

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Beyondjusttheimmediateimpact,foodinsecurityisasignificanthealthcareandeducationissuethatcostsallofusmoneyandcontributestothecycleofpoverty.Hungerisnotjustasymptomofpoverty,itperpetuatesit.Ahungrychildcannotlearn;amalnourishedseniorcannotageinplacewithdignity,especiallywhentheycan’taffordtheirmedication;andaworkingparentwhohastoregularlychoosebetweenawarmhouseorawarmmealfacesdebilitatingtoxicstress.Aslongaswecontinuetoignoretheimpactthathungerhasonhealthandeducation,wewillneverbreakthecycleofpoverty.

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TheFood StampProgramwascreatedinthe1960sandexpandedtobeanationwideprogramin1974.

NewresearchfromtheUrbanInstituteshowsthattheaveragelowcostmealinMaineiscloserto$3.00

In2014,Mainehadmorethan200,000enrolledinSNAP,soourrollshaveshrunkinthepastseveralyearsandthat’sdueinlargeparttoseveralpolicychangesthatweremadeatthestatelevel,imposingthingslikeassettestsandtimelimits.

35%offoodinsecureMainersactuallymaketoomuchtoqualifyforassistanceprogramslikeSNAP,buttheyarestillfoodinsecureandmustrelyonthecharitablehungerreliefnetwork.

Andsowhilethebenefitsdonotgofarenoughtocoverpeople’sfoodneeds,SNAPisanincrediblyimportantresourceforpeoplestrugglingwithfoodinsecurity.

Source:CenteronBudgetandPolicyPriorities

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GoodShepherdFoodBank,asthefoodbankforthestateofMaine,servesasthegrocerystoretothehundredsofendinghungerpartnersacrossthestate.Throughournetwork,weprovideover24millionmealstoover178,000Mainerseveryyear.Ourjobistosourcelargevolumesoffoodfromretailers,wholesalers,farmers,andmanufacturers.Mostofit’sdonatedandthenwemakethatfoodavailabletoendinghungerorganizationswhoaremembersofthefoodbank.Soourpartnersarefoodpantries,communitymealprograms,homelessshelters,andafter-schoolandothercommunityprogramsthatservelowincomeMainers.

Whilethesecharitable foodprogramsaresoimportant,it’salsoimportanttotalkabouthowmuchbiggertheSNAPprogramisincomparison.Forevery1mealprovidedbyfoodbanksandpantriesinthiscountry,SNAPprovides12.

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Somewhere around15%ofourstate’spopulationislookingtothecharitablehungerreliefnetworkasaregularsourceoffood.Thenetworkisbuiltarounddonatedfood,volunteers,andfinancialdonations.WhilethesegenerouseffortsarecrucialtomakingsureMainershaveaccesstoadequatefoodandthissystemalsogreatlyreducesfoodwaste,wehavebuiltanentiresecondaryfoodsystembasedoncharitytofeedpeopleexperiencingpoverty,includingsomeofthemostvulnerableamongus.Charityvs.justice.

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Weknowwemustdomore.Theproblemofhungerisgrowingandchanging.Inadditiontothegrowingimportanceofnutrition,wehavealsoseenatransitionfromourworkasthe“emergencyfoodsystem”,whichiswhatwehistoricallyhavebeencalled.Over80%ofthepeopleweservegotothefoodpantryatleastonceamonth.Thisisnotemergencyrelief,thisischronicandpersistenthunger.Andweareincreasinglyseeingpeoplewhoareworkingandyetstillnotabletoaffordtoputamealontheirtable.

Giventhesetrendswerecognize:Treatingthesymptomsofhungerisnotenough.Wehavebeendoingthisworkfor35yearsandtheproblemistheworstit’severbeen– wearenotgoingtofoodbankourwayoutofthis.Atleastnotifwekeepdoingthingsthesameway.Becausewearenowaregularsourceoffoodforthepeopleweserve,Foodbankscanbeapowerfulpreventativehealthcaretoolforlow-incomepopulations.Andbecausepeopleprioritizefoodaccess,wehaveregularcontactwithlowincomefamilies.Wecanuseourworktoconnectthesefamilieswithother

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resourcesthatcanhelpthemstabilizetheirlivesandfindapathwayoutofpoverty.

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• Soinadditiontochangingthekindoffoodwedistribute,we’vealsobeenchanginghow wedistributefoodandincreasinglyarecollaboratingwithorganizationsthatareservingthesamepopulation.

• Fortoolongfoodpantrieswereoperatinginsilosanddisconnectedfromotherorganizationsthatservethesamepeople.

• Peoplelivinginthecrisisofpovertyprioritizefoodbecausetheymust,it’safundamentalneed.However,theyoftenarenotabletoprioritizeotherresourcesthatcanhelpthembuildresiliencysuchasdiseasemanagement,jobtraining,orothereducationalopportunities.

• So,ifwecombinefoodaccesswithotherresources,thenwecanmakeiteasierforthepeopleweservetobenefitfromtheseprograms.

So,ifwecombinefoodaccesswithothercommunityresources,thenwecanmakeiteasierforthepeopleweservetobenefitfromtheseprograms.Anexampleofthisisourschoolprogramswherewe’velearnedthatputtingafoodpantryinaschoolimprovestherelationshipbetweeneducatorsandparentsandcreatesopportunityforparentstobemoreengagedintheirchild’sschoolcommunity.Similarly,manyofourpartnersareafter-schoolprogramsliketheGameLoft inBelfastandMyPlaceTeenCenterinWestbrook.Theseprogramsareliterallysavingsthelivesofsomeofourmostat-riskyouth.DonnaDwyer,thedirectorofMyPlaceTeen

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Centersharedwithmethatformanyofthesekids,theydon’ttrustadultsandit’shardtogetthemtoattendtheprogram.Butwhatwillgettheminthedoorwillbethefood.Andafterafewmeals,thewallsstarttocomedownandDonna’sstaffcanstartsavingthesekids.Andournewestcollaborationiswithhealthcarecenterswhereweareworkingtointegratehealthcarewithfoodaccessforlow-incomeMainerswiththegoaltoimprovehealthoutcomesandlimittheeffectsoffoodinsecurityasacontributortochronicdisease.

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MaptheMealGap:http://map.feedingamerica.org/county/2015/overall/maine

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Butwealsorecognizethatwedon’tjustwanttomeettheneedtoday,wemustfindpathwaystoamorefoodsecurefuturesowealsodecreasetheneedtomorrow.AsImentionedearlier,foodinsecurityisnotaboutfood– wehaveenoughfoodtofeedeveryone– it’saboutaccess.Weneedtogrowoureconomytogetmorepeopleworkingandearningalivingwage.Fromourcollaborativeworkwithschoolsandhealthcarefacilities,we’velearnedthepowerfulleveragethatwehavesimplybecauseofourscopeandscale.Sowhatifweusedthisscaletohaveourworkserveasaneconomiccatalystforourstate?

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