Millions of Americans go hungry while corporations choose to waste food rather than risk profit
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by Kinko Kiema This story was originally published at Prism. More than 38 million people experience hunger or food insecurity in the U.S., yet one-third of all food produced for consumption goes to waste. In the absence of government sMillions of Americans go hungry while corporations choose to waste food rather than risk profit
by Kinko Kiema This story was originally published at Prism. More than 38 million people experience hunger or food insecurity in the U.S., yet one-third of all food produced for consumption goes to waste. In the absence of government support that fully addresses the food needs of Black, Indigenous, and other people of color (BIPOC), marginalized communities have had to create their own solutions and systems, whether that involves partnering with longstanding nonprofits or building new mutual aid projects and organizations. While these initiatives attempt to fill the gaps in the U.S. food system, the larger institutional problems of inequitable distribution and accessibility, false narratives around “food scarcity,” and a mindset that values profits over people remain considerable obstacles. And the onset of COVID-19 has only made things worse—one in 10 people in the U.S. are struggling to afford food during the pandemic. In Oakland, Feed the Hood has been distributing free food since 2017. But when the pandemic hit, founder Candice Elder was faced with the challenge of readjusting the program’s operations around safety concerns, even as Oakland residents’ need for fresh food skyrocketed. Before COVID-19, she said, “we served 3,000 people [on] average in one morning, every six-to-eight weeks. The pandemic changed everything.” Feed the Hood had to assess how they could continue giving out food without endangering people. They had to look to new sources—like restaurants where people were no longer dining in—to collect food that would’ve been otherwise thrown away. They started providing door-to-door delivery to those in need. While Feed the Hood didn’t have to start completely from scratch, implementing the organization’s mission to address food insecurity became even more complicated because of the virus. Legislation bolstered some federal resources to address food insecurity, but racial disparities among households struggling with food insecurity still increased significantly throughout the pandemic—for example, the percentage of food-insecure Black households increased while the percentage of food-insecure white households slightly declined. ”The pandemic just exacerbated underlying issues in communities of color,” Elder said. Read more
