Announcing...The New and Re-imagined Nourishing Change Newsletter!
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Definition:
Able to be used or obtained; at someone's disposal
If you take the question of accessibility and adequacy out of the equation, food is readily available in the United States in most places. That is, we have an abundance of grocery stores, corner stores, fast food restaurants and a fraying but still existent social safety net. Availability of food takes on a different hue when we look at access to land, water, seeds, and the knowledge necessary to produce, prepare and distribute food. At issue is the following: Are we creating the conditions for farmers and others that want to produce food to have access to land and other resources to produce that food with dignity, to be able to provide for themselves and provide nourishment for us all? And are we protecting and shoring up the important government programs that provide food, health care, access to clean water, and fill other critical needs that low-income Americans depend on? For instance,
43 million Americans
depend on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), while
21.5 million low-income children
participate in the National School Lunch Program. For
millions across America these programs provide people with the nourishment they need and depend on.
Protecting these vital programs is important while we continue to advocate for living wages, a lower cost of secondary education, and a robust Food and
Farm Bill
that supports small- and medium-sized farmers who are critical to rebuilding local and regional food and farm economies. A
ccording to
EWG's Farm Subsidy Database
, 77 percent of farm subsidies paid between 1995 and 2014 flowed to the largest 10 percent of subsidy recipients. This means that the top 1 percent of subsidy recipients received 26 percent of all payments. So, while some very large operations receive more than $1 million annually in subsidies,
the bottom 80 percent of subsidy recipients annually collect less than $10,000
. This inequity needs to be addressed
.
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Definition:
The ability to be supported, upheld; the quality of not being harmful to the environment or depleting natural resources and thereby, supporting long-term ecological balance.
The accessibility and availability of food for us now and for future generations depends on the sustainability of the natural resources required for food production.
Around the world, there has been a precipitous change in the last 70 years in how food travels from farm to plate. The average of the American farmer these days is 58, with fewer individuals choosing farming as an occupation than ever before. While there are certainly exceptions, young adults are largely not staying in rural areas or returning after college to take on the family farm. This shift coincides with the increasing commodification of all natural resources rooted in a food system that values earnings over health and accumulation over community. In ensuring the right to food, production of fruits, vegetables, grains and meats in concert with the local ecology is critical, and it's just one piece of what makes up a sustainable food system. Wages of workers all along the food chain - from harvesters to packers to servers - must be able to sustain a dignified life for themselves and their families.
Thirteen percent of all food workers,
nearly 2.8 million workers
, relied on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps) to feed their household in 2016.
Every person involved in the food system-growers, food processors, distributors, retailers, consumers, eaters, and waste managers-play a part in guaranteeing a sustainable agricultural system.
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Please verify that your organization's profile is accurate in the
database
. To update your record, email
database@whyhunger.org.
If your organization is not in the database, please join us
here.
The WhyHunger Hotline number is 1-800-5-HUNGRY. Please update your records and find outreach materials
here.
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Nourishing Change is a
space to share critical thoughts around the systemic change that needs to happen to end hunger and transform the emergency food system.
We want to hear from you!
Email us at:
nourish@whyhunger.org
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Nourish Network for the Right to Food
WhyHunger
505 Eighth Avenue, Suite 2100
New York, New York 10018
212-629-8850
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Contributor: Betty Fermin
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