How To: Fill Your Plate with Food for Thought
By Editorial Team member Kyndall Tenace
When I imagine a summer day, I see sunburnt kids laughing alongside their friends at a poolside barbecue each sitting with a hot dog in one hand and a slice of watermelon in the other. On the other side of the seasonal spectrum - when I imagine winter, I see a family admiring their creation of a slightly lopsided snowman, each member clutching a warm cup of hot chocolate in their hands, melting marshmallows bobbing up and down with every step they take to head back home. Picturesque, I know.
While it may initially appear that both these idyllic scenarios share nothing in common, they are actually quite similar in the sense that they both revolve around food. It is an interesting thought to think about just how much the concepts of eating have become directly integrated into our culture and lives. This is understandably so, as one must eat in order to properly function throughout their day. For many, this is a perfectly attainable, and sometimes almost mindless, task.
Monday through Friday before heading to school, I grab a green juice from the fridge and a granola bar from the kitchen cabinet before dashing out the door, not giving the food in my bag another thought until my stomach begins to growl. Then I eat, and the growling stops. Yet, 37 million Americans struggling with hunger in the U.S don’t ever really know when the growling is going to stop. Fortunately, amazing organizations like the Laguna Food Pantry, Project Bread, and the Idaho Food Banks have recognized food insecurity as an issue in our communities and have made it their mission to provide the nutritional resources needed to those facing food insecurity. Below, we’ll hear from three women behind these organizations that are doing everything in their power to make sure every person's plate (and heart) is full.
KT: How many people do you serve monthly? Yearly? Are the majority of those you serve homeless or families struggling to make ends meet?
Suriya Khan, Board Member of Laguna Food Pantry: Our numbers are growing steadily, but at this point I would say we serve approximately 2,300 families and/or individuals on a monthly basis. We are averaging over 100 individuals a day coming into use the Food Pantry. The population we take care of are families predominantly, anywhere between 85% to 90% is made up of families in the Orange County area. 10% to 15% is made up of the homeless population. One of the things we’ve had to deal with over the past two years is really trying to implement in the local area is that we are not necessarily helping the homeless population as much as we are trying to help families get by with their day to day financial struggles, as it is a problem for families in general to live in Orange County because it is a very expensive area.
Morgan Wilson, Chief Development Officer of Idaho Food Bank: In Idaho, about one in eight people, including one in six kids, face hunger hunger. We serve about 179,000 people on average during a month. One of the caveats of that, is that we do not yet have our system in place to really say how many unique individuals that is, so that could be an individual that perhaps needs assistance twice per month. The vast majority of people participating are those struggling to make ends meet. There is actually a very impactful report put out by the United Way of Idaho, Washington, and Oregon called the “A.L.I.C.E Report”. A.L.I.C.E stands for “Asset Limited Income Constrained Employed”, which really looks into the group of people that are working but they can't take care of all of their basic needs. Overall across the state of Idaho, about a third of the population falls into that segment. So one accident, one job loss, one major house repair and the savings can be gone quickly. They find themselves in a spot where they are making really difficult decisions and one that often ends up in having to go without food.
KT: What is one way Project Bread is making a change in the community?
Erin McAleer, President of Project Bread: Project Bread is based in Massachusetts. We have been working with schools for over 25 years, and it is here that we focus a lot on legislation to mandate breakfast be provided after the bell. What this means is that the legislation will mandate that any school where over 60% of kids are eligible for free or reduced price lunch have to make breakfast as part of the school day. We also help schools to figure out the model that will work, providing grants, and working on healthy recipes. By passing this legislation we will be able to go back to schools and support them in implementing breakfast after the bell, but won’t necessarily have to tell them why they need to implement it anymore because the legislation provide for that.
KT: What can young people do to raise awareness and fight the hunger crisis in their community?
Suriya Khan, Board Member of Laguna Food Pantry: The best way to perpetuate any change is always going to be on a local level. If you are a young person or a teenager, what you can do is get involved in your high school. Our Laguna Beach High School has two or three active organizations that actually help facilitate food drives to benefit our pantry and the community.
Morgan Wilson, Chief Development Officer of Idaho Food Bank: There is very much an aging volunteer base, and that is really important for people to know because it is time for the next generation to take up meeting the community's needs. We need people to show up and see that the face of hunger is changing and that is perhaps not what they expect, and then we need people to take action. Whether that be through volunteering, making donations of food and funds, or giving voice to what hunger is- it’s really important to show up and take action. This isn’t just one generation’s issue- this is an issue that is hitting every community in every state and it's going to take a local action in order to really make a difference.
KT: How have you seen the effects of hunger change over the past few years in your community? Has it gotten worse or gotten better?
Erin McAleer, President of Project Bread: I think if you look at all the statistics, it’s getting better. But even in Massachusetts right now, it’s one in nine children who are food insecure and when I began it was one in seven children. That data point is really born from the economy, and the reality is that the economy is really strong- but it’s not working for everyone. Over half of the jobs that are being created are only at the minimum wage level. Additionally, Massachusetts is a really expensive place to live, so while we are seeing a reduction in food insecurity (which is great), we are finding that individuals who are making minimum wage are really struggling to break out of the cycle of poverty and food insecurity. In Massachusetts, you would have to work 80 hours as a minimum wage worker to afford a two-bedroom apartment anywhere in the state. Our childcare cost is also the most expensive in the country, in addition to really expensive heating bills due to old buildings and cold winters. So the reality is that families are paying all of these things, and they just can’t afford to pay for food. So while there has been a reduction in those who are food insecure, the reality is that people are still being left behind.
Morgan Wilson, Chief Development Officer of Idaho Food Bank: The thing about hunger is that there is no typical face. Hunger can hit anyone at any time, and look very different if your in an urban area versus a very rural area. So I started my journey in hunger relief in San Diego, so very urban. We worked with a lot of partners and do very large scale distributions where we would provide for 400 people in the scope of three hours. Now being in Idaho, I kind of get this opportunity to see both sides of it. So certainly we have some very large scale distributions that are urban based, where we have community partners that are working with a large population. But we also have very rural communities and those also need help. And so as I look back on the last 10 years, I think luckily our economy is recovering and we’re coming out of the recession, but there are still lots of people that are making really hard choices that often leave them without the food they need to really thrive.
KT: Debunk one stigma or stereotype surrounding hunger.
Erin McAleer, President of Project Bread: There is a big assumption that when you talk about who is hungry, it’s the homeless. Certainly we want to make sure that individuals and families living on the street have a safe place to live and food to eat. But the reality is that the majority of individuals who are food insecure are not homeless. They are the people that you probably already know- your neighbors, your friends, and your colleagues. They are people that have a job, but the wages are just not sufficient for the cost of living. You have to pay your rent- you don't want to be evicted. You have to pay your heating- you don't want to be cold. Food unfortunately is the last bill to be paid. So the biggest myth is that you don't really know who is hungry by looking at them.
Suriya Khan, Board Member of Laguna Food Pantry: In our Orange County (O.C) community, there seems to be an idea that food pantries are helping to perpetuate the homeless situation. That is not the case. For the average family with a minimum wage worker, the rental cost for an apartment or some type of dwelling in the O.C is $1,850 a month. On average, the minimum wage take-home salary is $1,850 a month. I always tell people: “You do the math. Tell me how a family is going to do it?” So we’re not just helping the homeless population. We are trying to help families who need supplemental food and nutrition that they cannot afford based upon the fact that it is so expensive to live in California.
KT: What has been the community response to your initiative?
Erin McAleer, President of Project Bread: I think what is great about Project Bread’s model is that the people impacted don’t necessarily recognize that they are participating in an anti-hunger program. We want this to be a dignifying, respect experience and that’s why we focus so much on schools- both breakfast and lunch. But we also do a lot when school is out through or “Summer Eats” initiative. When we do these programs right and do them well, we make them available to every single kid, it’s not only certain kids who get it and feel stigmatized- it’s every single kid. I think that is where we are truly successful- where we bring food to where people live, learn, work, and play and they don’t feel like they are receiving a charitable solution. So that’s what I think is really great about the way we structure our program by trying to find solutions that put the person at the center, and not the food at the center, and bring the food to where people already are.
KT: If you had to summarize what your organization’s fight against hunger and the impact it’s making truly means to you, what would you say?
Suriya Khan, Board Member of Laguna Food Pantry: My fight against hunger means on a personal level, that the Laguna Food Pantry is one of the places I go to that offers me the opportunity to work with other kindred, kind spirits and these people are the uplifting individuals that will help change the world.
Erin McAleer, President of Project Bread: My fight against hunger means that no parent has to worry about how they are going to feed their kids.
Morgan Wilson, Chief Development Officer of Idaho Food Bank: My fight against hunger means that there is going to be one family, one kiddo, one senior that they have a moment of relief and don’t have to make a horrible choice around how they are going to get the meal that they need. And if I can be part of providing that little bit of help that gives people the opportunity to find their resilience and to find a better future for their family, or for a senior to get their medicine that they need instead of making a choice between food or medicine, or making it so that a kid doesn’t have to worry about going to school hungry. That means that I am part of something that is worthwhile, it means that we are making a difference, and that we can make the community and the state a better place today and for the future- because when we all work together I really believe we can do amazing things.
If you or someone you know is struggling with hunger or food insecurity, there are resources available:
Laguna Food Pantry
20652 Laguna Canyon Road Laguna Beach, California 92651
8 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Monday through Friday
Project Bread
Massachusetts FoodSource Hotline: 1-800-645-8333 TTY 1-800-377-1292
Hotline Hours: Monday - Friday 8 A.M. - 7 P.M. Saturday 10 A.M. - 2 P.M.
Idaho Food Bank
Access the Food Assistance Guide here to help you find a local food pantry in Idaho near you.
Access the Backpack program here.
The Idaho Foodbank’s Backpack program ensures that students who are chronically hungry have access to adequate food over the weekend by providing them with a backpack full of nutritious, kid-friendly food every Friday during the school year.
While it may initially appear that both these idyllic scenarios share nothing in common, they are actually quite similar in the sense that they both revolve around food. It is an interesting thought to think about just how much the concepts of eating have become directly integrated into our culture and lives. This is understandably so, as one must eat in order to properly function throughout their day. For many, this is a perfectly attainable, and sometimes almost mindless, task.
Monday through Friday before heading to school, I grab a green juice from the fridge and a granola bar from the kitchen cabinet before dashing out the door, not giving the food in my bag another thought until my stomach begins to growl. Then I eat, and the growling stops. Yet, 37 million Americans struggling with hunger in the U.S don’t ever really know when the growling is going to stop. Fortunately, amazing organizations like the Laguna Food Pantry, Project Bread, and the Idaho Food Banks have recognized food insecurity as an issue in our communities and have made it their mission to provide the nutritional resources needed to those facing food insecurity. Below, we’ll hear from three women behind these organizations that are doing everything in their power to make sure every person's plate (and heart) is full.
KT: How many people do you serve monthly? Yearly? Are the majority of those you serve homeless or families struggling to make ends meet?
Suriya Khan, Board Member of Laguna Food Pantry: Our numbers are growing steadily, but at this point I would say we serve approximately 2,300 families and/or individuals on a monthly basis. We are averaging over 100 individuals a day coming into use the Food Pantry. The population we take care of are families predominantly, anywhere between 85% to 90% is made up of families in the Orange County area. 10% to 15% is made up of the homeless population. One of the things we’ve had to deal with over the past two years is really trying to implement in the local area is that we are not necessarily helping the homeless population as much as we are trying to help families get by with their day to day financial struggles, as it is a problem for families in general to live in Orange County because it is a very expensive area.
Morgan Wilson, Chief Development Officer of Idaho Food Bank: In Idaho, about one in eight people, including one in six kids, face hunger hunger. We serve about 179,000 people on average during a month. One of the caveats of that, is that we do not yet have our system in place to really say how many unique individuals that is, so that could be an individual that perhaps needs assistance twice per month. The vast majority of people participating are those struggling to make ends meet. There is actually a very impactful report put out by the United Way of Idaho, Washington, and Oregon called the “A.L.I.C.E Report”. A.L.I.C.E stands for “Asset Limited Income Constrained Employed”, which really looks into the group of people that are working but they can't take care of all of their basic needs. Overall across the state of Idaho, about a third of the population falls into that segment. So one accident, one job loss, one major house repair and the savings can be gone quickly. They find themselves in a spot where they are making really difficult decisions and one that often ends up in having to go without food.
KT: What is one way Project Bread is making a change in the community?
Erin McAleer, President of Project Bread: Project Bread is based in Massachusetts. We have been working with schools for over 25 years, and it is here that we focus a lot on legislation to mandate breakfast be provided after the bell. What this means is that the legislation will mandate that any school where over 60% of kids are eligible for free or reduced price lunch have to make breakfast as part of the school day. We also help schools to figure out the model that will work, providing grants, and working on healthy recipes. By passing this legislation we will be able to go back to schools and support them in implementing breakfast after the bell, but won’t necessarily have to tell them why they need to implement it anymore because the legislation provide for that.
KT: What can young people do to raise awareness and fight the hunger crisis in their community?
Suriya Khan, Board Member of Laguna Food Pantry: The best way to perpetuate any change is always going to be on a local level. If you are a young person or a teenager, what you can do is get involved in your high school. Our Laguna Beach High School has two or three active organizations that actually help facilitate food drives to benefit our pantry and the community.
Morgan Wilson, Chief Development Officer of Idaho Food Bank: There is very much an aging volunteer base, and that is really important for people to know because it is time for the next generation to take up meeting the community's needs. We need people to show up and see that the face of hunger is changing and that is perhaps not what they expect, and then we need people to take action. Whether that be through volunteering, making donations of food and funds, or giving voice to what hunger is- it’s really important to show up and take action. This isn’t just one generation’s issue- this is an issue that is hitting every community in every state and it's going to take a local action in order to really make a difference.
KT: How have you seen the effects of hunger change over the past few years in your community? Has it gotten worse or gotten better?
Erin McAleer, President of Project Bread: I think if you look at all the statistics, it’s getting better. But even in Massachusetts right now, it’s one in nine children who are food insecure and when I began it was one in seven children. That data point is really born from the economy, and the reality is that the economy is really strong- but it’s not working for everyone. Over half of the jobs that are being created are only at the minimum wage level. Additionally, Massachusetts is a really expensive place to live, so while we are seeing a reduction in food insecurity (which is great), we are finding that individuals who are making minimum wage are really struggling to break out of the cycle of poverty and food insecurity. In Massachusetts, you would have to work 80 hours as a minimum wage worker to afford a two-bedroom apartment anywhere in the state. Our childcare cost is also the most expensive in the country, in addition to really expensive heating bills due to old buildings and cold winters. So the reality is that families are paying all of these things, and they just can’t afford to pay for food. So while there has been a reduction in those who are food insecure, the reality is that people are still being left behind.
Morgan Wilson, Chief Development Officer of Idaho Food Bank: The thing about hunger is that there is no typical face. Hunger can hit anyone at any time, and look very different if your in an urban area versus a very rural area. So I started my journey in hunger relief in San Diego, so very urban. We worked with a lot of partners and do very large scale distributions where we would provide for 400 people in the scope of three hours. Now being in Idaho, I kind of get this opportunity to see both sides of it. So certainly we have some very large scale distributions that are urban based, where we have community partners that are working with a large population. But we also have very rural communities and those also need help. And so as I look back on the last 10 years, I think luckily our economy is recovering and we’re coming out of the recession, but there are still lots of people that are making really hard choices that often leave them without the food they need to really thrive.
KT: Debunk one stigma or stereotype surrounding hunger.
Erin McAleer, President of Project Bread: There is a big assumption that when you talk about who is hungry, it’s the homeless. Certainly we want to make sure that individuals and families living on the street have a safe place to live and food to eat. But the reality is that the majority of individuals who are food insecure are not homeless. They are the people that you probably already know- your neighbors, your friends, and your colleagues. They are people that have a job, but the wages are just not sufficient for the cost of living. You have to pay your rent- you don't want to be evicted. You have to pay your heating- you don't want to be cold. Food unfortunately is the last bill to be paid. So the biggest myth is that you don't really know who is hungry by looking at them.
Suriya Khan, Board Member of Laguna Food Pantry: In our Orange County (O.C) community, there seems to be an idea that food pantries are helping to perpetuate the homeless situation. That is not the case. For the average family with a minimum wage worker, the rental cost for an apartment or some type of dwelling in the O.C is $1,850 a month. On average, the minimum wage take-home salary is $1,850 a month. I always tell people: “You do the math. Tell me how a family is going to do it?” So we’re not just helping the homeless population. We are trying to help families who need supplemental food and nutrition that they cannot afford based upon the fact that it is so expensive to live in California.
KT: What has been the community response to your initiative?
Erin McAleer, President of Project Bread: I think what is great about Project Bread’s model is that the people impacted don’t necessarily recognize that they are participating in an anti-hunger program. We want this to be a dignifying, respect experience and that’s why we focus so much on schools- both breakfast and lunch. But we also do a lot when school is out through or “Summer Eats” initiative. When we do these programs right and do them well, we make them available to every single kid, it’s not only certain kids who get it and feel stigmatized- it’s every single kid. I think that is where we are truly successful- where we bring food to where people live, learn, work, and play and they don’t feel like they are receiving a charitable solution. So that’s what I think is really great about the way we structure our program by trying to find solutions that put the person at the center, and not the food at the center, and bring the food to where people already are.
KT: If you had to summarize what your organization’s fight against hunger and the impact it’s making truly means to you, what would you say?
Suriya Khan, Board Member of Laguna Food Pantry: My fight against hunger means on a personal level, that the Laguna Food Pantry is one of the places I go to that offers me the opportunity to work with other kindred, kind spirits and these people are the uplifting individuals that will help change the world.
Erin McAleer, President of Project Bread: My fight against hunger means that no parent has to worry about how they are going to feed their kids.
Morgan Wilson, Chief Development Officer of Idaho Food Bank: My fight against hunger means that there is going to be one family, one kiddo, one senior that they have a moment of relief and don’t have to make a horrible choice around how they are going to get the meal that they need. And if I can be part of providing that little bit of help that gives people the opportunity to find their resilience and to find a better future for their family, or for a senior to get their medicine that they need instead of making a choice between food or medicine, or making it so that a kid doesn’t have to worry about going to school hungry. That means that I am part of something that is worthwhile, it means that we are making a difference, and that we can make the community and the state a better place today and for the future- because when we all work together I really believe we can do amazing things.
If you or someone you know is struggling with hunger or food insecurity, there are resources available:
Laguna Food Pantry
20652 Laguna Canyon Road Laguna Beach, California 92651
8 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Monday through Friday
Project Bread
Massachusetts FoodSource Hotline: 1-800-645-8333 TTY 1-800-377-1292
Hotline Hours: Monday - Friday 8 A.M. - 7 P.M. Saturday 10 A.M. - 2 P.M.
Idaho Food Bank
Access the Food Assistance Guide here to help you find a local food pantry in Idaho near you.
Access the Backpack program here.
The Idaho Foodbank’s Backpack program ensures that students who are chronically hungry have access to adequate food over the weekend by providing them with a backpack full of nutritious, kid-friendly food every Friday during the school year.