What would happen if people came together to create long-term solutions to hunger in their community?

What would these solutions look like?

An exciting new project is happening in western Massachusetts – one that could serve as a model for community-based change for sustainable solutions to the problems of hunger and unequal access to nutritious foods the United States.

The project is Target:Hunger, and it’s taking place in two pilot communities.  Mason Square, Springfield, is our urban pilot community, and our rural community is the seven towns of northern Berkshire County. 

About 25 partners in each community have come together to create and implement plans that will reduce hunger by 10% in four years while increasing food security for everyone in those communities.  The results will be measured by research on hunger rates at the beginning and end of the project.  Partners include social service agencies, farmers, students, communities of faith, people personally affected by food security, government officials, statewide anti-hunger agencies, and concerned citizens. 

WHY IS THIS PROJECT NEEDED?

We need a new approach to hunger.  When food banks began in 1970s and early 1980s, they were seen as a temporary solution to hunger.  But they have become a permanent part of the landscape.  At The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, in the last decade alone, we have seen a threefold increase in the amount of food we distribute for hunger relief.  So we began talking about what we can do, not just to relieve hunger today, but to eliminate it in the long term.  The Food Bank approached two western Massachusetts communities in which we thought a project like this would be successful.  Our partners in Springfield and North Berkshire said “yes” – and Target:Hunger was born!

We need Food Justice.  Even in our land of plenty, many people experience “separate and unequal” access to food.  While higher-income families and individuals can afford fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, fish, and lean meats, families and individuals living at lower incomes often must make less healthy choices.

While most Americans can shop for the foods they prefer, many people must rely on pantries – emergency programs with limited, if any, choices.  Well stocked, affordable supermarkets are abundant in the suburbs, but rare in inner cities and rural areas.  Lack of adequate transportation and grocery stores within walking distance have been shown to create “food deserts” in low-income areas that have a measurable negative impact on health.

Furthermore, global trade practices can undermine local food systems by forcing small farmers either to go out of business or to sell cash crops to distant consumers rather than meeting local needs.

Local people around the world are working against these trends – creating greater access to healthy foods for people of all backgrounds and incomes, effecting changes in public policy, celebrating local food traditions and passing skills on to the next generation, and fostering sustainable agriculture that meets local needs.  Target:Hunger is a food security/food justice project incorporating the unique strengths and needs of our region. 

A Snapshot of Local Needs and Strengths

A study by Market Street Research in May, 2006, showed rates of hunger and food insecurity in our Target:Hunger communities that are significantly above the national average.

In the northern Berkshires (Adams, Cheshire, Clarksburg, Florida, North Adams, Savoy, and Williamstown), during the 12 months prior to the study,

• 11% of households at times experienced moderate or severe hunger
• Overall, 18.3% of households were food-insecure (with or without hunger)

In Mason Square, Springfield, during the 12 months prior to the study,

• 9.1% of households at times experienced moderate or severe hunger
• Overall, 19.2% of households were food-insecure (with or without hunger)*

These communities are not unlike many others in western Massachusetts in the surprising degree to which many of their citizens struggle to put food on the table.  Our Target:Hunger communities are snapshots of what is happening in many of our neighborhoods and towns, both in terms of their needs and their considerable strengths.

Target:Hunger Springfield and Target:Hunger North Berkshire will serve as model programs that other communities can look to for guidance and inspiration for sustainably reducing hunger through building community food security.

* The national rates of hunger and food insecurity are about 4% and 11% respectively (USDA, 2005)

Our Community Plans

Our Target:Hunger partners in each community have created a four-year plan to achieve our goals.  In the coming years, our projects will:

• Create a directory to connect residents connect with food security resources in their own community
• “Everyone is an outreach worker!” – Create an informed, motivated grassroots “army” of people who can encourage residents to enroll in food stamps and help guide them through the process.  Include clergy, medical personnel, community centers, schools.
• Help community members share and build skills to increase food security – through gardening, cooking, budgeting, and nutrition education.  
• Improve community infrastructure to increase food security by creating transportation links to grocery stores and services, establishing and expanding community gardens, establishing and expanding farmers’ markets, and initiating farm-to-school and farm-to-summer programs (whereby food service programs buy from local farmers).
• Seek to establish enterprise around food and agriculture to enhance food security, such as
  • a certified community kitchen that can serve as a small business incubator, in which community members can produce food products for sale;
  • a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm that provides a portion of its shares at a discount; and
  • opportunities for student and community gardeners to sell their produce and value-added products at local farmers’ markets.
• Engage in advocacy for state, federal and local policies, programs, and infrastructure that support local food security and access to good nutrition for all.

For more information about Target:Hunger or to get involved, contact Helen Harrison at helenh@foodbankwma.org

Definitions

Food Security:  A condition in which all people obtain a safe, culturally appropriate, nutritious diet through a sustainable food system that maximizes community self-reliance and social justice. (Hamm and Bellows)

Hunger:  An involuntary lack of adequate food leading to a painful, uneasy sensation and, if prolonged, physiological changes. 

Food Insecurity (with or without hunger):  Inadequate access to adequate and safe foods that can be obtained in socially acceptable ways. 

Click below to learn more about the research conducted by Market Street Research, Inc in both Target:Hunger Communities.

Springfield Research

North Berkshire Research