Table Of Contents
1. Definition
2. Food Insecurity in Illinois
3. Statistics
4. Health Consequences
5. History of Midwest Food Bank
6. Help Options
Definition
Food Insecurity is defined at a household level and is determined based on the inadequacies of food per household member based on finances. There are four levels to Food Insecurity; the first is High Food Security, the second Marginal Food Security, the third is Low Food Security, and finally the fourth is Very Low Food Security but High Food Security and Marginal Food Security aren't at levels of being insecure. High Food Security is where there are no problems or limitations that are related to food access or availabilty. Marginal Food Security is when there are concerns that food will run out before not having enough money to purchase more. Low Food Security is a reduced quality, variety, or desirability of needing food, aka Food Insecure. Finally, Very Low Food Insecure is where there's disrupted eating patterns which results in reduced food intake, aka Food Insecure. These are based on how many food insecure conditions there are in a household. Conditions can include but are not limited to: the worry of running out of food, food not lasting, bad diets, not eating for a whole day or days in a row, and even unintended weight loss. Food Insecurity is related to poverty but not mutually-exclusive. The less of these conditions existing in a household, the higher the security. People who are Food Insecure never really know when their next meal will come. They have to go day by day wondering if they'll get any food and there are plenty of cases were they might go days without getting anything.
Food Insecurity in Illinois
Food Insecurity is a huge problem all across the world. Child Hunger affects thousands of children due to their families having insufficient money to buy proper food to meet their nutritional needs. Hunger is normally addressed by private and public food aid provisions. There are defining reasons as to why it exists based on universal definition. There are up to around 783 million people worldwide who are facing Food Insecurity. Out of those 783 million people, 1,201,290 are Food Insecure in Illinois. Out of those 1,201,290 people, 315,330 of them are children who are struggling with getting food on their plates. People who are facing hunger in Illinois are supposedly needing around $759,254,000 to meet their needs for food.
Statistics
Over 350 million people worldwide are struggling to put enough food on their table to live a healthy life, let alone nutritional food. Inflation in our economy does not help these people because in the last year, the price of food has risen 9.5% and peaked at 11.4% making it the highest since May of 1979, meaning it is much harder to make ends meet for families already struggling. Families are not the only ones struggling. Midwest Food Bank says their demand for food from partner agencies has went up 30% in 2023, meaning they are working harder than ever to try and make sure families get the food they need. According to the USDA, 2022 had the highest rate of food insecurity since 2014 and the largest one-year increase of food insecurity in 15 years. This trend continues in McLean County and Livingston County as more than 25,000 residents are a part of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program which benefits families that struggle financially and helps them put food on the table. According to CNBC, nearly 13% of U.S. households were food insecure in 2022, significantly higher than the year before. This means 1 in 8 households struggled to put nutritional food or food in general on the table, meaning some 17 million families went hungry for some meals.
Health Consequences
It is said that Food insecurity can lead to many sicknesses, which include diabetes, heart disease, and obesity. According to Feeding America Food Bank, more than half of the households that Feeding America serves have at least one member living with high blood pressure and one third have someone with diabetes. It is also important to mention that when an adult is food insecure and already have underlying sickness, it is hard to pick between feeding yourself or treating yourself. Not treating yourself can lead to more severe sicknesses.
History of Midwest Food bank
Midwest Food Bank started in Bloomington-Normal, Illinois, in 2003. When a family, the Kieser family began collecting food donations, and serving local food pantries from a shed on their farm. 20 years later Midwest Food Bank is now the largest food bank in the nation. The Normal, IL location still serves as the organization's corporate headquarters. The Normal IL location distribute food to 1320000 people in need throughout Central and Southern Illinois.
Help Options
There are many opportunities to help your community. The best way to help your community is by donating money to local food banks, but not everyone can do that. However, anyone can volunteer to help at their local food bank. Most, if not all food banks and food pantries accept volunteers to help sort, package, and distribute food to local families or individuals. Some volunteer opportunities include sorting and packing donations to help organize for future distributions, as well as shopping assistance which helps families during their visit to the food bank or food pantry. Home deliveries help the older and less capable people who are fighting hunger, and cooking and meal preparations are always needed to help serve dinners at soup kitchens or during a community meal. The Midwest Food Bank location in Normal, Illinois, partners with 461 non-profit organizations to help supply food to 132,000 community members throughout Central and Southern Illinois, and they are always accepting more help.
Local Source
A short informational podcast by a student at Heartland Community College was conducted as part of research.
Resources For Those Experiencing Food Insecurity
References
Reducing Food Insecurity In Infants and Toddlers
Midwest Food Bank Awarded Grant
Perkins, Meg. “Enough To Eat? How Food Insecurity Affects Thousands In Bloomington-Normal.” Illinois News. Dec. 29, 2022. Enough to eat? How food insecurity affects thousands in Bloomington-Normal | Illinois News Feb. 5, 2024
Coussens, Staci. “Walk On Over To Raise Hunger Awareness.” Illinois Extension. Sep. 7, 2023. Walk on over to raise hunger awareness | Illinois Extension | UIUC Feb. 5, 2024
Steele, Emily. “Community Gardens Fight Food Insecurity Close To Home.” Illinois Extension. Aug. 16, 2022. Community gardens fight food insecurity close to home | Illinois Extension | UIUC Feb. 5, 2024
Nelson, Carissa. “5 Ways To Practice Food Advocacy This Holiday Season.” Illinois Extension. Dec. 22, 2021. 5 ways to practice food advocacy this holiday season | Illinois Extension | UIUC Feb. 5, 2021
“Midwest Food Bank Bloomington-Normal Helps Local Farmer Donate Excess Pork.” WJBC. Apr. 30, 2020. Midwest Food Bank Bloomington-Normal helps local farmer donate excess pork | WJBC AM 1230 Feb. 5, 2024
SteinBacher, Michele. “Recent NCHS Grad Wins National 4-H Award For Work Addressing Food Insecurity And Healthy Habits.” WGLT. Oct. 2, 2023. Recent NCHS grad wins national 4-H award for work addressing food insecurity and healthy habits | WGLT Feb. 5, 2024
Godey, Maria. “Millions Of American Families Struggle To Get Food On The Table.” NPR. Oct. 26, 2023. Millions of families in the U.S. experience food insecurity, report finds : Shots - Health News : NPR Feb. 5, 2024
Pathak, Arohi. Richards, Ryan. Jarsulic, Marc. “The United States Can End Hunger and Food Insecurity for Millions of People.” Center For American Progress. Aug. 11, 2022. The United States Can End Hunger and Food Insecurity for Millions of People - Center for American Progress Feb. 5, 2024
User, Super. “Midwest Food Bank of Illinois-Bloomington-Normal.” Illinois-Bloomington-Normal - Midwest Food Bank, https://www.midwestfoodbank.org/locations/bloomington-il#:~:text=Hometown%20Roots%3A%20Midwest%20Food%20Bank,food%20bank%20in%20the%20nation. Accessed 7 Mar. 2024.
“Importance of Nutrition on Health in America.” Feeding America, www.feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america/impact-of-hunger/hunger-and-nutrition. Accessed 7 Mar. 2024.
