WHAT FOLLOWS…
1.
Food insecurity and hunger in Montgomery County
2.
Implications and cost to the County
3.
Our 50-year-old model
4.
Progress in 2013
5.
A 21st century solution
FOOD INSECURITY AND HUNGER
County residents receiving
SNAP benefits
+151%
70,000
60,000
In 2012, almost 70,000 County
residents received monthly SNAP
benefits, a 12% increase from 2011,
and a 151% increase from 2008.
(MD Hunger Solutions)
50,000
35,390 children in Montgomery
County, live in “food insecure”
households, uncertain where their next
meal is coming from. (Feeding America)
40,000
30,000
20,000
10,000
0
2008
2011
2012
FOOD INSECURITY AND HUNGER
More than 1 in 3 MCPS students qualify for Free and
Reduced Meals, over 51,000 children, which is more children
than are enrolled in the DC Public School system. (MCPS)
8,060 County seniors, live below the poverty line, up 29.5%
from 2009, and that number is expected to continue to
increase. (Montgomery County Senior Sub Committee on Vital Living)
FOOD INSECURITY AND HUNGER
Funding for the MCHHS Senior Food program has remained
unchanged since FY11, while seniors within the program have
increased by 25%. (Montgomery County Senior Sub Committee on Vital Living)
To be self-sufficient in Montgomery County, a single adult
needs to make $17 per hour. (Maryland Community Action Partnership)

Even with planned wage increases to $11.50 by 2017,
County residents will be severely challenged.
IMPLICATIONS AND COST TO THE COUNTY
Poverty, itself, hurts our ability to
make decisions about school, finances,
and life, imposing a mental burden
similar to losing 13 IQ points. – Science,
August 2013
Healthy kids learn, unhealthy kids don’t.
In the No Kid Hungry Survey of teachers,
teachers said hungry kids:




can’t concentrate (88% agree)
lack energy (82%)
show poor academic performance (82%)
cause discipline problems (67%)
IMPLICATIONS AND COST TO THE COUNTY
Food insecure households
often try to stretch their food
budgets by purchasing cheap,
energy-dense foods that are
filling but typically have lower
nutritional quality. This type of
overconsumption of calories
has been linked to obesity.
(Basiotis & Lino, 2002; DiSantis et al.,
2013; Drewnowski & Specter, 2004;
Drewnowski, 2009)
IMPLICATIONS AND COST TO THE COUNTY
Approximately 1 in 5 low-income
preschool children and adults is obese—
leading to an increase in Type II diabetes
and many other adverse health
consequences.
(Centers for Disease Control)
Medical costs from
obesity in Maryland
$1,600
$1,400
$1,200
$1,000
In Maryland, an estimated $1.5 billion of
adult medical expenditures were attributed
to obesity in 2009. Calculations for per
adult medical costs were $341 in 2008,
$626 in 2013, and are projected to be in
$1,642 in 2018. (“Future Costs of Obesity” report)
$800
$600
$400
$200
$0
2008
2013
2018
OUR 50-YEAR-OLD MODEL
Approximately 50 autonomous non-profits in Montgomery
County are tackling food insecurity.


50 overheads, 50 facilities, 50 boards of directors,
50 databases, 50 fundraising operations
Lack of:





Technology
Adequate storage and distribution facilities
Highly nutritious food
Staff
Limited hours of operation
OUR 50-YEAR-OLD MODEL
An outdated approach
based on purchasing food
rather than recovering it.
Families that are lowincome often commute to
facilities to receive food
that is not the highest in
nutrition, while unused
fresh perishable food is
going to waste.
ENCOURAGING PROGRESS IN 2013



The Montgomery County Food Recovery Working Group
has been earmarked $200,000 by the County to fund
the efforts of fighting food waste through coordination
and increasing storage and transportation capacities.
The Working Group has become a subgroup of the
Montgomery County Food Council—contributing to the
County’s commitment to a sustainable food system.
Montgomery County Food Security Collaborative was
established in 2013, with five food assistance nonprofits, the Community Foundation for Montgomery
County, and Burness Communications.
GOAL OF THE COLLABORATIVE
To significantly reduce hunger in Montgomery County
by 2020 by redistributing fresh, perishable food and
increasing collaboration among businesses, non-profits,
food providers, and families in need for this purpose.
A 21ST CENTURY SOLUTION FOR THE COUNTY
A strategy for the new Collaborative–creating a
paradigm shift.


Shared Database: A network to link food providers to
non-profits and those they serve in the County.
New Partnerships: Staff to identify and negotiate with
restaurants, caterers, supermarkets, farmers, and other
food providers.
A 21ST CENTURY SOLUTION FOR THE COUNTY

Increased staff capacity to recover and distribute food.

Increased equipment to store and process recovered food.

A mobile, efficient, and coordinated transportation system.

Public education to promote healthy diets.
A 21ST CENTURY SOLUTION FOR THE COUNTY
Benefits Healthier and more productive
workforce; recognition of social responsibility
values; more prosperous marketplace.
Benefits Access to healthy food; support for
self-sufficiency; linkages to social service
agencies.
Benefits Tax benefits; community partnerships.
Benefits Reliable sources of healthy food;
expanded capacity; community partnerships.
OUR GOAL – HOW CAN YOU HELP?


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Our goal is to raise $2 million over a three year
period, and significantly reduce hunger by 2020.
To reach this goal, we are looking for donors to
contribute a fixed amount for three consecutive
years.
For example, if we get 20 donors to contribute
$15,000 per year for three years, we’ll be well on
our way.
We are confident that there is sufficient interest and
dollars in the County to make this happen.
CURRENT COUNTY INITIATIVES
Montgomery County Food
Security Collaborative
Food Council
• Advocacy and
education
• Collect innovative
ideas
• Recommend
potential projects
• Creating and encouraging
synergy between supplier
food-providers
Food Recovery
Working Group
• Standards/protocols for
food rescue and
distribution
• Matchmaking with food
providers and supplier
food providers
Capacity
Building and
Sustainability
• Promoting innovative
anti-hunger services for
county residents
• Provide resources to
maintain programs that
support self-sufficiency
• Further encourage food
recovery
Takoma Park
Presbyterian Shared Use
Community Commercial
Kitchen and the Food
Hub Incubator
• Movement to create
community space where
food can be processed
and sold
Hunger Relief
Committee
• Seeks to reduce hunger
by engaging various
organizations in
collaborative study,
education, action and
advocacy
SUPPORTERS OF THE COLLABORATIVE
Rainbow Community Development Center