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
US Hunger
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
MN Hunger
1 in 10 MN households experience food
insecurity on a regular basis.
USDA, 2013
Senior Hunger
8.6% of seniors in MN reported being
threatened by hunger.
National Foundation to End Senior Hunger, 2013
Employment and Food Insecure
Households
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, 2013
Hunger Solutions, 2013
Childhood Poverty
• 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, 2012
U.S. Census
Hunger’s Impact on School Performance
and Behavior
•
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 Childhood Health
and Wellness
• 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
A Place at the Table
Rosie’s Story
Nutrition Assistance-Charity
• 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
MN Food Shelf Visits
There were 3 million visits to food shelves in
MN.
– This number increased by 166% between 20002012
– Families with children represented more than 1.2
million of these visits
Hunger Solutions, 2013
Is Charity Enough?
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.pdf
http://blog.bread.org/2012/04/congress-wants-your-church-to-spend-50000.html
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)
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
(SNAP) for FY 2013
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)
• 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=2226
http://mepconline.org/snap-is-important-to-local-economies-when-times-are-tough
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program (SNAP)
SNAP Individuals & Households FY2005-FY2013
50
45
40
35
30
25
Individuals (in Mil)
Households (in Mil)
20
15
10
5
http://www.fns.usda.gov/pd/snap-reports#qc-error
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
0
Length of SNAP Receipt
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
Who is Eligible for SNAP?
• 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.
SNAP Misuse
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
Free and Reduced Price Lunch
• Provides meals for 300,000 MN students each
day
• Co-pay eliminated in 2014
Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)
• 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)
• 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