The COVID-19 Pandemic and Hunger – 3 Ways to End Both

I’ve spent most of my life working in hunger relief. First at a food bank (shout out to Gleaners in Indianapolis!) and later at Feeding America. And then finally after a few other stops, here at the Arizona Food Bank Network.

Over the last year and a half dealing with COVID-19, so many of us have experienced dramatic highs and devastating lows. And we carry on, hoping we can make a difference today and hanging on for a better tomorrow. It’s occurred to me more than a few times that fighting the pandemic is a lot like fighting hunger. I see glimpses of hope, and then something crushing happens, but we persist through the heartache and keep pushing for a better day.

Both hunger and COVID disproportionately impact vulnerable communities, too, hitting hardest where injustice already rules the day. So here’s the big question: How does this end? Both the pandemic and food insecurity?

1. We listen to impacted communities and prioritize the solutions THEY want. I want the COVID-19 vaccine to be available to everyone, and some would say that it is. It’s free! Just go to your local drugstore! This reminds me of getting a free food box from a food bank or pantry. It’s free! Just go get one! Well, when was the last time you took a bus? Can you imagine hauling a food box on public transportation? And what about people who can’t afford to leave work, because that means they won’t be paid? When you are living paycheck to paycheck, as so many Americans do, every penny counts. So you go without the food. You go without the vaccine and take your chances. And those pennies are a wish and prayer away from being taken away if you get really sick. We have to connect and listen, and then put programs in place that are responsive to what we’ve heard.
2. We realize the true power in the statement “Because I care about you.” This is why, even though I am (thankfully, fortunately) fully vaccinated, I wear a mask. Sure, it adds a layer of protection for me, but it’s also my way of saying to everyone I encounter that they matter to me. Like it or not, we are all in this together, and the health and safety of my community is important. Why should we try to get food to people who can’t afford it? Besides just being the right thing to do, who among us hasn’t ever needed a little help? I sure did, and I was born with odds stacked in my favor in countless ways.
3. We decide, collectively, that we can do better. And then we do. Some call this “political will” and it is that, but it’s also so much more. Don’t you long for things to be better personally, even on the best of days? If only I had, if only I were, and on and on. And how great it feels when things do get better! Kids this year – all kids in public school – will have access to free breakfast and lunch, all year long. This is something that those of us working in hunger relief thought was a faraway dream, but due to the pressures of the pandemic, it happened. And at a time when COVID-19 is spiking and kids are returning to classrooms, how wonderful is it that AT LEAST they – and their families – don’t have to worry about kids being hungry while trying to learn. There was a better path to making sure kids are fed this year. And we took it. Interestingly, while this policy might have been opposed in the past, the public arguments against it have been non-existent. After all, who WANTS kids to be hungry? And so, who WANTS people to get COVID-19 and suffer the impacts of even a mild case? And if you can’t muster sympathy for people in general, let’s personalize it – do you WANT your child/friend/mom/grandpa/spouse to get sick and possibly die from something preventable? No? Great! See, we agree and we can do better, for your loved ones and for other peoples’ nearest and dearest.

I know these aren’t the simple solutions that you were probably looking for when you clicked through to read this post. Note I didn’t say “Three EASY ways” in the headline! But after almost 30 years of working to make things better for people who are food insecure, I can honestly say that the solutions are in front of us for both COVID-19 and hunger. So let’s do something about it! Together. 

                                  – Terri Shoemaker, Vice President of Development & Marketing