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Hunger in Minnesota. Minnesota FoodShare A program of Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches...

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Hunger in Minnesota
Transcript

Hunger in Minnesota

Minnesota FoodShare

•A program of Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches•Mission is to fight hunger in Minnesota•Supporting food shelves statewide since 1983

•March Campaign•Pack the Pews

•GardenShare•Harvest Campaign

•Minimarkets •Advocacy and Education

•Regional Conferences•Food Access Summit

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

Matthew 25: 31-40

How are we, as people of faith, called to care for the “least of these” in our communities?

Food Security and Insecurity

Food security Access by all people at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life.

Food insecurity Consistent access to adequate food is limited by a lack of money and other resources at times during the year.

http://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-in-the-us.aspx

Why Food Insecurity

• Hunger is hard to measure• Access to food is easier to measure and is quantifiable • Other common or acceptable terms

– “hunger” – “at risk of hunger” – “hungry” – “faced the threat of hunger.”

• Food insecurity can also accurately be described as “a financial juggling act, where sometimes the food ball gets dropped.”

http://tfbn.org/food-insecurity/

The Great Recession-Hunger & Poverty

American Winter

49.1 million —including 16.2 million children—live in households that do not have consistent access to nutritious food.

That is the equivalent of the populations of California and Ohio going hungry.

http://www.nokidhungry.org/problem/hunger-facts

US Hunger

MN Hunger

1 in 10 MN households experience food insecurity on a regular basis.

USDA, 2013

8.6% of seniors in MN reported being threatened by hunger.

National Foundation to End Senior Hunger, 2013

Senior Hunger

Almost 39% of food insecure households have at least one employed adult.

Additionally, 44% of MN households receiving SNAP have at least one employed adult residing in the house.

Almost 2/3 of households receiving SNAP have household members who are elderly, disabled, or under 18, making consistent employment difficult or unachievable.

Hunger Free Minnesota, 2013Hunger Solutions, 2013

Employment and Food Insecure Households

• In 2012 254,000 or 20% of MN children lived in low income working families.

• In 2012, 183,595 Minnesotans under the age of 18

lived in poverty

Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2012U.S. Census

Childhood Poverty

• 9 out of 10 K-8 public school teachers say eating a healthy breakfast is key to academic achievement and 3 out of 5 say they regularly see kids who come to school hungry.

• The National Institutes of Health found children under three who lack adequate nutrition are not as likely to learn as much or as fast as children who are nourished.

• The Harvard School Breakfast Research Summary found that lack of adequate nutrition can impair a child’s ability to concentrate at school. They also found that teens that are not adequately nourished are more likely to get suspended from school.

• When kids get healthy breakfast, there is an average increase of 17.5% on standardized math scores.

http://www.nokidhungry.org/pdfs/Facts-Childhood-Hunger-in-America-2013-grid.pdf

Hunger’s Impact on School Performance and Behavior

• Children who experience food insecurity get sick more often, recover from illness slower, and are hospitalized more frequently than children who not go hungry.

• Children who experience hunger are more likely to get headaches, stomachaches, colds, and ear infections and to experience fatigue.

http://www.nokidhungry.org/pdfs/Facts-Childhood-Hunger-in-America-2013-grid.pdf

Hunger’s Impact on Childhood Health and Wellness

A Place at the Table Rosie’s Story

• Food banks– Organizations that distribute or sell food to area food

shelves• Food Shelves (Food Pantries)

– Organizations that distribute food to individuals who are in danger of experiencing hunger/food insecurity, also referred to as food pantries outside of MN

• Hot Meal Programs/Soup Kitchens/Meals on Wheel– Organizations distribute precooked meals that are eaten

on site or delivered

Nutrition Assistance-Charity

There were 3 million visits to food shelves in MN. – This number increased by 166% between 2000-2012– Families with children represented more than 1.2

million of these visits

Hunger Solutions, 2013

MN Food Shelf Visits

Federal nutrition programs such as SNAP provide more than 23 times the amount of food assistance as charitable organizations.

In 2012, when Congress proposed cutting SNAP by $165 billion, Bread for the World estimated that each of America’s 335,000 religious congregations would need to provide $50,000 each year for 10 years to feed those in need in their communities who lost benefits.

http://www.bread.org/event/gathering-2013/pdf/snap-fact-sheet.pdfhttp://blog.bread.org/2012/04/congress-wants-your-church-to-spend-50000.html

Is Charity Enough?

Nutrition Assistance-Government Assistance • Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)• Women, Infant, and Children (WIC)• Free and Reduced Price Lunch and School Breakfast • Child and Adult Care Program (CACFP)• Summer Food Service • Elderly Nutrition Program • Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP)• Food Distribution on Indian Reservations (FDPIR)

United States• 47,636,090 participants• 23,052,396 households• $76,066,279,984 distributed• $133.07 average benefit per

person• $274.98 average benefit

per household

USDA FNS, 2014

Minnesota • 552,928 participants • 274,236 households • $771,362,512 distributed• $116.25 average benefit per

person• $234.40 average benefit per

household

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for FY 2013

• Every additional $1 in SNAP benefits stimulates $1.70 in economic activity.

• 50 years in current form

• Electronic Benefits Transfer

• About $4 a day per person

• Can only be used for food, not alcohol, tobacco, or toiletries

http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=2226http://mepconline.org/snap-is-important-to-local-economies-when-times-are-tough

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

SNAP Individuals & Households FY2005-FY2013

Individuals (in Mil)Households (in Mil)

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)

http://www.fns.usda.gov/pd/snap-reports#qc-error

3 out of 4 new SNAP participants leave the program within 2 years and over half only receive benefits for 10 months or less.

USDA Food and Nutrition Service. Building a Healthy America: A Profile of SNAP, April 2012

Length of SNAP Receipt

• While most Americans with low incomes (at or below 130% of the FPL) are eligible for SNAP, groups such as undocumented immigrants, most college students, and striking workers are ineligible.

• Even documented immigrants must wait 5 years before they can receive SNAP.

• Also, Able Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWD) are limited to three months of receipt unless they are working at least 20 hours a week or are participating in a job training program.

Who is Eligible for SNAP?

SNAP is one of the most tightly regulated federal programs.

While the overpayment rate was 5% in MN in 2013 (fell to 4.4% in first part of FY14), it is 3.4% for the US.

USDA, 2013

SNAP Misuse

Free and Reduced Price Lunch

• Provides meals for 300,000 MN students each day

• Co-pay eliminated in 2014

• Started in 1974• Provides vouchers for food for women who

are pregnant, postpartum, or breastfeeding and children up to age 5 who are nutritional risk

Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)

Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)

• FY2013, the number of women, infants, and children receiving WIC benefits each month averaged over 8.6 million participants per month.– 4.6 million children– 2.0 million infants– 2.0 million women

WIC and SNAP Education

• Both WIC and SNAP provide education on nutrition

• WIC provides breastfeeding education • SNAP-Ed also provides budgeting, meal prep,

and meal planning tools and classes

A Place at the Table Barbie’s Story

How are we, as people of faith, called to care for the “least of these” in our communities?

What can we, as citizens and as people of faith, do to address hunger in our communities?

•Pray• Incorporate themes of fighting hunger and injustice in your worship service and Bible study• Lenten resource on hunger will be available through Minnesota FoodShare in 2015• Urban Immersion Service Retreats offers poverty simulations and training for congregations

•Get Involved• Contact Minnesota FoodShare or your local food shelf about volunteering• Educate your congregation, friends, and neighbors about hunger (resources can be found at

www.gmcc.org)• Invite Minnesota FoodShare to speak to your church’s adult education group or mission team

about hunger•Act

• Write letters to the editor of your local and neighborhood papers• Call and write to your federal and state reps• Get involved with advocacy groups (JRLC)• Participate in JRLC’s Day on the Hill in March 2015• Hunger Day on The Hill February 2015

He has shown you, O Mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8


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