Indy Hunger Network Formed to Fight Growing Hunger Problem in Metropolitan Area

Transcription

1 Indy Hunger Network Formed to Fight Growing Hunger Problem in Metropolitan Area Why is hunger increasing? Children under the age of 18 living in poverty in Marion County has DOUBLED since 2000 You may not have heard about our coalition, the Indy Hunger Network. You may not even know why we have banded together. You should though, because we are fighting to eliminate a horrible condition in the Indianapolis area that not only unbelievably exists but is engulfing more and more people of every age and income level seemingly every day. This condition causes medical costs to rise, education efforts to be handcuffed and prosperity to be diminished. Yet it can be greatly reduced in the Indianapolis area. What s the condition? Hunger and the lack of sufficient nutritious food caused by loss of employment, poverty and aging. In Indianapolis? Yes. Hard to believe, you say. Consider these facts and research conclusions concerning poverty and hunger and our children. Apr. 34,000 Apr. 68,000 According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of children under the age of 18 living in poverty in Marion County has doubled since 2000 to an estimated 68,208. In 2011, 86 percent of the students enrolled in Indianapolis Public Schools received free or reduced-cost lunches. 86% IPS students received FREE or reduced-cost lunches in 2011 Among households with children that depend on food from Gleaners Food Bank in Indianapolis, 33 percent are rated as food insecure with very low food security. That means those households had one or more members who experienced reductions in food intake or disruptions in eating patterns due to a lack of adequate resources for food. (A recent Feeding America report reveals that 17.4 percent of Marion County residents are food insecure as are 22.5 percent of the county s children.) Poverty Rates Even mild under-nutrition experienced by young children during critical periods of growth impacts their behavior, school performance and overall cognitive development, according to a report by Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy titled The Links Between Nutrition and Cognitive Development of Children % 15.3% Children living or being born into food-insecure households are at much greater risk for low-birth weight; hospitalizations; and poor cognitive, academic and psychosocial development, according to a report from the New York Academy of Sciences. 1

2 While the above statistics focus on child hunger and food insecurity, the condition is impacting people of all ages in Marion and its surrounding counties as our country, state and city struggle with economic difficulties. In Indiana, according to American Community Survey data from the nation s census bureau released in September 2011, the poverty rate increased to 15.3 percent in 2010 from 14.4 percent in Connect2Help 211 data further demonstrates the need: From September August 2011, Connect2Help responded to calls from people with a total of more than 303,000 children in their households. 32% of these calls had at least one family member who was unemployed a 29% increase compared to before the so-called Great Recession began. 57% of the families turning to Connect2Help had income from public assistance benefits only or no income at all. Connect2Help Calls from senior citizens increased 93% in the last 3 years. Poverty and job loss are root causes of the hunger and food insecurity problem. Consider that the unemployment rate in Indianapolis, like the rest of the country, began rising in 2008 from around 5 percent to approximately 9 percent in 2009 where it remains today. Most economists say the real unemployment rate is much higher more than 15 percent nationwide. The real unemployment rate is a combination of three measures which are the unemployment rate, the number of people working part-time who want to work full-time and the number of people who have left the workforce but would still like to be employed. Nearly Impossible Without A Job Being without full-time employment makes raising a healthy and happy family nearly impossible, according to Connect2Help, the Indianapolis area help organization that connects people in need who telephone dial or utilize the program s internet options to human services providers. From September 2010 through August 2011, Connect2Help responded to calls from people with a total of more than 303,000 children in their households. Meeting basic needs, such as paying for housing, utilities and food were the biggest challenges. Connect2Help reports these needs came from families at all income levels and 32 percent had at least one family member who was unemployed. That is a 29 percent increase compared to the same time frame in 2006 and 2007 before the so-called Great Recession began. Another 6 percent reported their hours to work or their income had been recently reduced. Fifty-seven percent of the families turning to Connect2Help had income only from public assistance benefits or no income at all, putting them in the American Community Survey category of severely poor. These are households earning below half of the Federal Poverty Guidelines which is $9,155 or less for a family of three. American Community Survey data indicates that almost 7 percent of all people in Indiana are in this group. Nearly 10,000 households with 33,000 children contacted Connect2Help specifically for food help. Then there are the elderly. According to Connect2Help, calls from seniors in the Indianapolis area increased 93 percent in the last three years. Utility bills, housing and food issues were the top three senior call needs. Emergency food from food pantries and questions about food stamps increased 76 percent and 42 percent respectively. A probable factor of those increases was identified by the University of Indianapolis Center for Aging & Community which reported last year that nearly 43 percent of seniors in Indiana have income at or below the poverty level. 2

3 These are some of the statistics that define the problem. The people impacted, no matter what their age is or their household or employment situation, are not just numbers. The Indy Hunger Network believes no one in the metropolitan area should have to go without food or be faced with the choice whether to pay a utility bill so their children can be warm in the winter or to buy food so they will not be hungry. So What Is To Be Done? So how can you help? Indy Hunger Network has several initiatives underway: BackSacks Summer Servings Breakfast in the Classroom Strengthening the network of our Pantry Partners indyhunger@gmail.com or call x116 for more information on how you can get involved. The Indy Hunger Network is a coalition of representatives of all of the Indianapolis area s leading anti-hunger organizations, both public and private. We are working to improve systems and resources to dramatically reduce hunger in the metropolitan area with at least one specific objective in mind. Our mission is to create a system by 2015 that ensures anyone who is hungry can access the food they need. We know that hunger can be dramatically reduced in our community. It can only happen if there is a concentrated community-wide effort to reduce the problem. We are hoping you will join the cause. We will be announcing targeted ways community organizations, businesses, members of faith communities and individuals can join the fight. Visit our website, for updates and news about the efforts and to identify yourself as someone who wants to help. In the meantime, here are two ways to get started: 1. Indy Hunger Network is working to provide more food to more people in the Indianapolis area. We believe that by working more closely together we can become more efficient and help strengthen local food pantry partners, increase participation in school breakfast programs, expand food distribution programs and the like. Still, we are in need of more resources to have a greater impact. Would you consider supporting or increasing your support to one or many of the Indy Hunger Network organizations? 2. Because of our country s financial condition there is a political will among some to severely cut or do away with funding of some federal and state government programs that benefit the poor. The Indy Hunger Network does not have a political position on the broad issue. However, we do when it comes to helping people find food to eat. That is because we know that as hard as the Indianapolis area s food-providing organizations work, we are able to provide only 7 percent of the food that is distributed to the hungry and food-insecure people in Marion County. National nutrition programs like SNAP (food stamps), school lunch and WIC provide the remaining 93 percent. Please support government food distribution efforts especially when economic times are tough. 3. We invite individuals to volunteer at and donate to the fine organizations that make up the network, and sign up to receive newsletters from the Indy Hunger Network. Contact information: Find us at IndyHunger.org, us via indyhunger@gmail.com or call ext Together, we can assure by 2015 that everyone who needs food can access it. 3

4 About Indy Hunger Network Who is the Indy Hunger Network? It is a coalition of representatives from leading anti-hunger organizations, both public and private, in Indianapolis. Partners include: CICOA Aging and In-Home Solutions, Connect2Help, Elders at the Table (EAT), Elanco, Department of Education, Eli Lilly, Gleaners Food Bank, Indiana Family & Social Services Administration (FSSA), Indianapolis Mayor s Office, Interfaith Hunger Initiative, Marion County Public Health Department, Meals on Wheels, Midwest Food Bank, Second Helpings and St. Vincent de Paul (SVdP). How it Operates Indy Hunger Network is a guiding coalition. It is an all volunteer-led organization. Our Mission Our mission is to create a system by 2015 that ensures anyone who is hungry can access the food they need. Why? The food system that feeds the hungry is large and complex. For example, there are more than 200 small food pantries mostly in churches in Indianapolis alone. We believe that by working together to make the system more efficient and effective, we can dramatically reduce hunger. What Indy Hunger Network Does Fosters collaboration and builds on the strengths and capabilities of the many existing food-providing community organizations, encouraging public support of them Identifies key opportunities to make the food system work better for hungry people Establishes projects to make improvements Serve as advocates where needed and appropriate Monitors health of overall food system Creates awareness for hunger assistance What Indy Hunger Network Does Not Do Usurp authority of individual organizations Conduct food operations 4

5 Initial Projects Early work has focused on understanding the food system that feeds hungry people in Indianapolis and identifying improvement opportunities. While that continues, we have several projects under way including: Increasing utilization of summer lunch programs through Summer Servings promotions and research Making backpacks of weekend food available to all chronically hungry children in Central Indiana Increasing access to school breakfast Strengthening the network of food pantries, our Pantry Partners In addition, the following efforts are in the planning stages: A promotional campaign so people in need know to call to find food assistance Development of the fundraising capacity of network partners Increase the capacity of all the non-government network partners Enhancement of volunteer experiences at network partners Contact: Dave Miner, Chair of Indy Hunger Network x116, indyhunger@gmail.com 5