District 5040 Rotary Foundation Grant Management Seminar Welcome ! Thanks For Coming.
Thank you all for coming today and thanks to the University ......Thank you all for coming today and...
Transcript of Thank you all for coming today and thanks to the University ......Thank you all for coming today and...
ThankyouallforcomingtodayandthankstotheUniversityofSouthernMaine FoodStudiesprogramforhavingmehere.IwillbesharingsomeinformationabouttheproblemofhungerinMaineandtheprogramsthatexisttocombatthisproblem.
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ManyofyouhavealreadyheardthestatisticsofhungerinMaine– justover16%ofMaine householdsarefoodinsecurity,accordingto theU.S.DepartmentofAgriculture.This includes1in5children.Thisnumberhasbeenlargelyunchangedsince2010.Thisranksus9th inthecountryandthirdinthecountryforverylow foodsecurity.
OnlyAlabamaandLouisianahavehigherratesofverylowfoodsecurity.
Thesearemorethanjustsadstatistics, theyareshameful.
https://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/pub-details/?pubid=84972http://map.feedingamerica.org/county/2015/overall/maine
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Asyoucansee,Maine’sfoodinsecurityrateiswellabovethenationalandNewEnglandaveragesandtrendinginthewrongdirection.FoodinsecurityinMainehasgrown20%since2008.
Theothertrend youcanseehereisthatacrosstheboard,we’restillatlevelsoffoodinsecurityhigherthanpre-recessionlevels.
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Who ishungryinMaine?Thesearestatisticsaboutpeopleaccessingservicesatfoodpantriesacrossthestate.
Arepeopleworking?Thosewhocanworkareworking,theyarejustworkinginthelowwagejobmarket.Manypeoplestringtogethermultipleparttimejobsthatdon’tofferbenefits.We’llhearmoreaboutthislater.
Source:https://www.gsfb.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Food-Pantry-Report-2-6-171.pdf
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WhydowehavehungerinMaine?Hungerisanincomeissue,peoplearehungrybecausetheydon’tearnenoughmoneytocovertheirbasicneeds.
Maine hashighratesofunder-employment. Thedeclineinunemploymentismaskingwhatisreallyhappening– peoplestringingtogether2,sometimes3part-timejobsinordertoworkatleast40hours.Oftenearningjustoverminimumwageandwithnobenefits.
Medianincomein2017was0.1%belowthe2007level,afteradjustingforinflation.
Thisisnotaboutfood– wethrowaway40%ofourfood– thisisaboutaccess
MainealsohasHighcostsofmanyinelasticexpenses:healthcare,utilities,housing,evenfoodprices inMainearehigherthanmostofthecountry.
Thisforces peopletomakeunthinkabledecisions
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DoIheatmyhomeorbuyfood?DoIpayformymedicationorbuyfood?
Havingtomakeregulardecisionsliketheseputstoxicstressonpeoplelivinginpoverty.
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Beyondjusttheimmediateimpact,foodinsecurityisasignificanthealthcareandeducationissuethatcostsallofusmoneyandcontributestothecycleofpoverty.Hungerisnotjustasymptomofpoverty,itperpetuatesit.Ahungrychildcannotlearn;amalnourishedseniorcannotageinplacewithdignity,especiallywhentheycan’taffordtheirmedication;andaworkingparentwhohastoregularlychoosebetweenawarmhouseorawarmmealfacesdebilitatingtoxicstress.Aslongaswecontinuetoignoretheimpactthathungerhasonhealthandeducation,wewillneverbreakthecycleofpoverty.
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TheFood StampProgramwascreatedinthe1960sandexpandedtobeanationwideprogramin1974.
NewresearchfromtheUrbanInstituteshowsthattheaveragelowcostmealinMaineiscloserto$3.00
In2014,Mainehadmorethan200,000enrolledinSNAP,soourrollshaveshrunkinthepastseveralyearsandthat’sdueinlargeparttoseveralpolicychangesthatweremadeatthestatelevel,imposingthingslikeassettestsandtimelimits.
35%offoodinsecureMainersactuallymaketoomuchtoqualifyforassistanceprogramslikeSNAP,buttheyarestillfoodinsecureandmustrelyonthecharitablehungerreliefnetwork.
Andsowhilethebenefitsdonotgofarenoughtocoverpeople’sfoodneeds,SNAPisanincrediblyimportantresourceforpeoplestrugglingwithfoodinsecurity.
Source:CenteronBudgetandPolicyPriorities
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GoodShepherdFoodBank,asthefoodbankforthestateofMaine,servesasthegrocerystoretothehundredsofendinghungerpartnersacrossthestate.Throughournetwork,weprovideover24millionmealstoover178,000Mainerseveryyear.Ourjobistosourcelargevolumesoffoodfromretailers,wholesalers,farmers,andmanufacturers.Mostofit’sdonatedandthenwemakethatfoodavailabletoendinghungerorganizationswhoaremembersofthefoodbank.Soourpartnersarefoodpantries,communitymealprograms,homelessshelters,andafter-schoolandothercommunityprogramsthatservelowincomeMainers.
Whilethesecharitable foodprogramsaresoimportant,it’salsoimportanttotalkabouthowmuchbiggertheSNAPprogramisincomparison.Forevery1mealprovidedbyfoodbanksandpantriesinthiscountry,SNAPprovides12.
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Somewhere around15%ofourstate’spopulationislookingtothecharitablehungerreliefnetworkasaregularsourceoffood.Thenetworkisbuiltarounddonatedfood,volunteers,andfinancialdonations.WhilethesegenerouseffortsarecrucialtomakingsureMainershaveaccesstoadequatefoodandthissystemalsogreatlyreducesfoodwaste,wehavebuiltanentiresecondaryfoodsystembasedoncharitytofeedpeopleexperiencingpoverty,includingsomeofthemostvulnerableamongus.Charityvs.justice.
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Weknowwemustdomore.Theproblemofhungerisgrowingandchanging.Inadditiontothegrowingimportanceofnutrition,wehavealsoseenatransitionfromourworkasthe“emergencyfoodsystem”,whichiswhatwehistoricallyhavebeencalled.Over80%ofthepeopleweservegotothefoodpantryatleastonceamonth.Thisisnotemergencyrelief,thisischronicandpersistenthunger.Andweareincreasinglyseeingpeoplewhoareworkingandyetstillnotabletoaffordtoputamealontheirtable.
Giventhesetrendswerecognize:Treatingthesymptomsofhungerisnotenough.Wehavebeendoingthisworkfor35yearsandtheproblemistheworstit’severbeen– wearenotgoingtofoodbankourwayoutofthis.Atleastnotifwekeepdoingthingsthesameway.Becausewearenowaregularsourceoffoodforthepeopleweserve,Foodbankscanbeapowerfulpreventativehealthcaretoolforlow-incomepopulations.Andbecausepeopleprioritizefoodaccess,wehaveregularcontactwithlowincomefamilies.Wecanuseourworktoconnectthesefamilieswithother
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resourcesthatcanhelpthemstabilizetheirlivesandfindapathwayoutofpoverty.
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• Soinadditiontochangingthekindoffoodwedistribute,we’vealsobeenchanginghow wedistributefoodandincreasinglyarecollaboratingwithorganizationsthatareservingthesamepopulation.
• Fortoolongfoodpantrieswereoperatinginsilosanddisconnectedfromotherorganizationsthatservethesamepeople.
• Peoplelivinginthecrisisofpovertyprioritizefoodbecausetheymust,it’safundamentalneed.However,theyoftenarenotabletoprioritizeotherresourcesthatcanhelpthembuildresiliencysuchasdiseasemanagement,jobtraining,orothereducationalopportunities.
• So,ifwecombinefoodaccesswithotherresources,thenwecanmakeiteasierforthepeopleweservetobenefitfromtheseprograms.
So,ifwecombinefoodaccesswithothercommunityresources,thenwecanmakeiteasierforthepeopleweservetobenefitfromtheseprograms.Anexampleofthisisourschoolprogramswherewe’velearnedthatputtingafoodpantryinaschoolimprovestherelationshipbetweeneducatorsandparentsandcreatesopportunityforparentstobemoreengagedintheirchild’sschoolcommunity.Similarly,manyofourpartnersareafter-schoolprogramsliketheGameLoft inBelfastandMyPlaceTeenCenterinWestbrook.Theseprogramsareliterallysavingsthelivesofsomeofourmostat-riskyouth.DonnaDwyer,thedirectorofMyPlaceTeen
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Centersharedwithmethatformanyofthesekids,theydon’ttrustadultsandit’shardtogetthemtoattendtheprogram.Butwhatwillgettheminthedoorwillbethefood.Andafterafewmeals,thewallsstarttocomedownandDonna’sstaffcanstartsavingthesekids.Andournewestcollaborationiswithhealthcarecenterswhereweareworkingtointegratehealthcarewithfoodaccessforlow-incomeMainerswiththegoaltoimprovehealthoutcomesandlimittheeffectsoffoodinsecurityasacontributortochronicdisease.
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MaptheMealGap:http://map.feedingamerica.org/county/2015/overall/maine
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Butwealsorecognizethatwedon’tjustwanttomeettheneedtoday,wemustfindpathwaystoamorefoodsecurefuturesowealsodecreasetheneedtomorrow.AsImentionedearlier,foodinsecurityisnotaboutfood– wehaveenoughfoodtofeedeveryone– it’saboutaccess.Weneedtogrowoureconomytogetmorepeopleworkingandearningalivingwage.Fromourcollaborativeworkwithschoolsandhealthcarefacilities,we’velearnedthepowerfulleveragethatwehavesimplybecauseofourscopeandscale.Sowhatifweusedthisscaletohaveourworkserveasaneconomiccatalystforourstate?
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