Hunger in Toledo

It is the Sunday after Thanksgiving, and I have been thinking about hunger and food insecurity all week. I started thinking about this earlier this week, especially with the interview of Raj Patetl on Democracy Now on November 24, author of Stuffed and Starved. This interview focused my attention, not because of my personal situation, but rather, it emphasized how the extremes of our nation are even more apparent, particularly the abundance of food for some and the insecurity of having enough food for others.

Thanksgiving, for many including myself, is a time of plenty with overabundance of food on our tables. As someone who worries about my weight, the time between Thanksgiving and the end of the year is one where I think about taking an extra bite or two of the too rich, calorie laden food. For 2020, even as a year that Thanksgiving may have been celebrated differently because of Covid, I still overindulged and saw I was not alone based on many posts on social media of tables full of food and people talking about being stuffed on special meals.

Thanksgiving is also a time of food donations and extra work for food pantries, and 2020 has forced more families into desperation because of unemployment and poverty requiring more to rely on help with food. Feeding America, an organization focusing on hunger in the US, reports that before Covid, food insecurity was at its lowest point in decades though over 35 million people (including more than 10 million children) still faced hunger. With updated information from October 2020, Feeding America now estimates 50 million people (including more than 17 million children) will experience food insecurity this year. Nationally, in 2018, over 11% of the population was estimated to experience food insecurity; in 2020 it is estimated to be 15.6%.

What is food insecurity? Well, the USDA defines food security is the access to food for a healthy, active life. Food insecurity, therefore, is the lack of food for all people in a household to sustain healthy and active lives.

In Ohio, especially in Lucas County and Toledo, the numbers are stark:

• In 2018, 13.9% of the population was food insecure, with 18.9% of children experiencing food insecurity. The state was 11 in the US.

• Estimates for 2020 have pushed Ohio to 10th place, with 18.1% of the population experiencing food insecurity or more than 2 million people.

• The situation in Lucas County was bleak prior to Covid. In 2018, 15.9% of the population and 22% of children experienced food insecurity. This is primarily because over 61% of this population is below the SNAP (food stamps) poverty definition of 130% of poverty (Poverty was defined at $25,100 for a family of 4 in 2018).

• The estimate for food insecurity for 2020 for Lucas County is 21.2%.

Though the numbers are bleak, there are many people working on this issue in Toledo, and the county. So instead of just focusing on the problem, Doing Better in Toledo is about small steps to help bring about change.

So what are some of the good things that are happening?

Food Banks In Lucas County

Lucas County is full of food banks and food pantries that are supporting families, even with Covid restrictions. I completed a search of the internet this week and found nearly 60 different organizations. This is my map, but people can find resources at OSU Extension on food assistance resources.

Little Food Pantry

On Collingwood, there is a Little Free Food Pantry that people in the neighborhood stock with staples. People can come by and take what they need. Think Little Libraries, but for food…. Leave what you can; take what you need. People try to keep it stocked all year round. This one was built by students from Perrysburg (sorry The Blade has limits on their stories, but hope you can see the article).

Collingwood Community Garden

Behind the Little Free Food Pantry is a true treasure… the food forest on Collingwood. Even though there is limited availability of food growing in winter, come summer, there is food to pick for anyone who wants it. The folks that run this are really amazing people making Toledo a little better.

In a few weeks, I hope to write about the other food movement that is often connected to the Collingwood Garden, Foods not Bombs Toledo. Keep an eye out for that story.