Neighborhood House’s Post

If you’ve just sat down to a delicious meal, don’t take it for granted… Shockingly, food relief organisations tell me that demand for free food is now far higher than in Covid, with employed people on low incomes joining the queues of people who can’t afford to eat. As people struggle to pay their bills amid the cost-of-living crisis, they are forgoing food in order to pay for housing, health and heating. According to FoodBank’s 2022 Hunger Report, over two million Australian households had experienced severe food insecurity in the preceding 12 months. And the situation is only getting worse. Food relief organisations within our local area urgently need funding and support so they can meet the increasing demand for food relief as the cost-of-living crisis continues to impact our communities. In June I asked the Council to consider further support for food relief organisations. In response the City has created a new $5.1 million program that will support projects and programs that improve access to affordable, healthy, safe and culturally appropriate food for our diverse communities. OzHarvest, Addi Road Community Organisation and First Nations Response addressed Council last week. I’m incredibly appreciative of their work, and the insight they shared with us to help shape the program. OzHarvest says that demand for free food has never been so high, with charities they service having seen a 73 per cent increase in need and over a third of clients seeking food relief for the first time. First Nations Response has seen requests for their culturally appropriate, community-led support double since late 2022. Addison Road’s Camperdown Food Pantry has seen a 32 per cent increase in demand in the past year, and are increasingly seeing low-income workers whose capacity to buy food has decreased as their rents have increased, including nurses. This the heartbreaking reality of food insecurity in Sydney. I call on the State and Federal Governments to step up and join us in providing urgent and ongoing financial support for food relief organisations amid the cost-of-living crisis.

Food insecurity has reached its highest level in 20 years. At Food Bank For New York City this isn't just a statistic; it's a daily reality. In a country like ours, no one should ever have to go without food. Let's make a difference. Share this post. Give if you can. Together, we can tackle hunger! [Link to the report: https://lnkd.in/eSt_8qis]

Working with our feeding network has taught us that while many individuals come to their organizations for food, it is the wrap-around services that truly can change lives. That’s why it’s vital to support the important work of community organizations that address broader issues such as health outcomes, educational attainment and the ability to earn a living wage. Read our recent blog, North Texas Food Bank and Partners: Fighting Food Insecurity in our Communities, at https://lnkd.in/g3yh-TXx.

Food insecurity knows no bounds, affecting not only those who have traditionally struggled but also creeping into the lives of middle-class families. A recent report reveals a stark reality: in 2022, an estimated 17 million households faced difficulties finding enough food, a significant increase from the previous year. At Meals on Main Street, we believe everyone should have access to food without the weight of shame. 💙🍽️ Our mission is to make food available to all, regardless of circumstance. Read more by clicking the link. #FoodInsecurity #MealsOnMainStreet https://lnkd.in/eMB5mMUW

Food insecurity across Washington County and Appalachia is a shared concern between CNX and Food Helpers. In addition to supporting the organization’s 471 Kids Challenge, we’re active partners addressing these local issues on a micro and macro level. President and CEO of Food Helpers, George Omiros, expresses the impact of this partnership over the years in a recent Positive Energy Hub piece: https://lnkd.in/eCa74B3Z “Natural gas has created significant economic opportunities for our region, and supporting individuals, families, and businesses so they can take advantage of this new economy will help break the cycles that lead to food insecurity. We applaud CNX Resources and CNX Foundation for filling in funding gaps and taking steps to address this critical, urgent issue in our region.” #AppalachiaFirst

With pandemic-era boosts to government food aid ending in 2023, Hunger in Southern Colorado is chronic, and last fiscal year, Care and Share’s hunger relief network—made up of nearly 300 frontline nonprofits and partners—saw a 40 percent increase in visits to food pantries compared to our previous fiscal year (July 2022-June 2023). This reality coupled with Care and Share’s food budget buckling under inflation in 2023, has forced us to buy less food, cut back on pandemic-born services, and reduce staff, to try our best to meet the growing needs of our partners, but it’s still not enough. What can we do? Advocate. This year marks the Farm Bill’s return, affecting crucial hunger-relief programs. This legislation surfaces only every 5 years. In addition, hunger and food insecurity are mere reflections of broader challenges: affordable housing, meager wages, racial and geographical disparities, limited healthcare access. We cannot food bank our way out of this. Let your voice resonate and advocate for a transformed environment fostering prosperity for all Americans. Humans designed the system we’re in, so it can be designed differently, if the will is there. Donate. Year-round, Care and Share and all of our partners need food and funds to help Coloradans continue to make ends meet as economic pressures continue to ravage the budgets of our neighbors across Colorado. We need to continue to meet the immediate needs. Volunteer. Every act of volunteering contributes to a nonprofit’s vision. Your talents and time can become invaluable assets to nonprofits who are striving to become more efficient and to innovate. It takes us all working together. We all have a role to play—embrace that power!

Food insecurity is not a new challenge, but one made worse by the pandemic. Now, food pantries, food banks, government agencies and philanthropic supporters are stepping up their efforts and evolving to better meet the needs of the community. This article is part of The Change Project, a series by NJ Spotlight News examining NJ’s social and economic challenges and focusing on promising actions that have led to positive change. #ChangeProjectNJ

Halifax County is in such a great need of food for those in need. See statistics below! Hitachi Energy South Boston was able to talk with the Jane Jones Food Pantry and create a partnership where Hitachi donates and supplies volunteers when they have a shortage of helpers. See below information about the Jane Jones Food Pantry and information about Halifax County. 1. 17% live below the poverty level. 2. 32% of the population are the working poor. 3. Combined, 49% of the population lives below the median income of $43,714 which is 39% less than the state median income level of $76,398. 4. The 65+ age population is 23.1% and increases annually adding to more residents living on a fixed income and in need of a food assistance program. 5. 19% of the 65+ age population live in poverty. 6. 29.5% of the population lacks basic literacy. Resources: Southside Planning District Commission Comprehensive Plan 2017-2037, Halifax County, Virginia; United Way ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) Project 2020 Each month the Food Pantry serves on average 145+ households, which costs approximately $2,000 depending upon the number of clients served. The clients receive supplemental nutritional food to provide monthly hunger relief for qualifying residents in Halifax County, located in southern Virginia. The food items include canned vegetables, fruit, soup, and spaghetti sauce; pasta, macaroni and cheese, peanut butter, jelly, cereal, and rice; a quart of milk, pound of margarine, dozen eggs, loaf of bread, and frozen meat. All of which provides enough for 2-3 days of meals. The Jane Jones Food Pantry at Main Street United Methodist Church began monthly food distribution in January 2009 to offer relief for the chronic hunger which exists in Halifax County, VA. After researching food assistance programs available in the community, they found The Good Samaritan, a local emergency assistance program, served people every 4 months. Several smaller food pantries located farther out in the county had limited resources and were unable to provide food assistance on a regular basis. Because of the severe need it was decided to establish a monthly distribution Food Pantry to provide hunger relief for the residents of Halifax County, VA.

Follow the link below to view the article. Food assistance for needy kids grows https://lnkd.in/g53qvMmN Extended food assistance for children during the summer

Did you know that in District 17 CT Foodshare provides nearly 182,000 meals and an additional 25,000+ through their mobile food pantry? It’s hard to believe that our need could be that great but food insecurity doesn’t discriminate across party lines, age, race, or zip code. Yesterday, I held a bipartisan press conference with Connecticut Foodshare, Senator Henri Martin, and our senate and house colleagues to discuss Feeding America’s “Map the Meal Gap” report. The news isn’t good. 😳468,150 people in Connecticut are food insecure, a 23% increase or around 90,000 additional people 😫1 in 8 Connecticut residents are food insecure, compared to 1 in 10 last year 🚨1 in 6 children in Connecticut are food insecure ❗️1 in 4 Black persons in Connecticut are food insecure ❗️1 in 4 Hispanic persons in Connecticut are food insecure 📣1 in 11 White non-Hispanic persons in Connecticut are food insecure It’s not great news, especially since the bill that Senator Martin and I proposed did not even get a hearing this year. HB5011 would have provided $10 million to Connecticut Foodshare for the CT-NAP program and 15% of that would have gone to farmers in Connecticut for the food they grow. We will absolutely return to this issue in January. Out neighboring states can’t provide millions while we do exponentially less. To learn more, see the news article here: https://lnkd.in/e4ZWXm_w Or watch the press conference below: https://bit.ly/44HXGDV