Hunger Study Update!

By Katie Irwin, FALPC Intern

As you may remember from our May Newsletter, the Hunger in America 2014 study (aka “the Hunger Study”) has been going on since April of this year.  It is part of a national study being conducted by Feeding America, and locally the Worcester County Food Bank is coordinating the Worcester County portion of the study.  Feeding America provides hunger relief charity that fights “hungry through a nationwide network of member food banks [to] engage our country in the fight to end hunger.”  Over the past few months we’ve learned a lot about the study and the challenges and joys of working with food pantries all over the county to help us survey clients.

The Hunger Study is surveying clients at food pantries and soup kitchens, asking them about their experiences with these programs, their housing and medical situations, their work situations, demographics and more.  It collects all this information in an attempt to understand the lives of those who utilize feeding programs – whether frequently or only once.  All this data can then be used to advocate for sufficient programs, funding, and policies to address issues of hunger and poverty in our communities.  All of the information is confidential.  However, there are many challenges the volunteers face when asking people to participate.

This year, for the first time, we are using tablets (think iPad) to conduct the survey, and we sample clients randomly.  Sometimes people take the survey enthusiastically, and other times clients decline.  Sometimes we stay at a pantry for several hours only to collect 4 surveys, and other times we may collect 8 or 9 in just one hour.  As of now, we have completed 23 visits to pantries and soup kitchens out of the 65 we will do by the end of August.  We have seen 971 clients come through these programs and 90 have completed the survey for us.  About 42% of people we ask to take the survey say “no”.  Both men and women take the survey at roughly equal rates, and about ¾ of the people we have surveyed have been under 60 years of age.

As an intern with the Food & Active Living Policy Council and with the Hunger Study, this has been a new experience for me and has helped open my eyes and break down stereotypes of people who use food pantries or meal programs (soup kitchens).  I have seen all types of people; young old, large families or a single client, in all different communities and the list goes on.  Some of these programs, especially the food pantries can only provide a client or household with a box or bag or two of groceries per month.  This in no way provides for all the clients/households needs but helps them able to provide more food then they otherwise might not have been able to.   Many Americans might not think about the hunger in our own country; “over 50 million people, 1 in 6 of the US population [and] 1 in 5 of children” go hungry.  We can ask ourselves when there is so much food around why and who are going hungry.  There are many organizations that can show you how to take action and it does not have to be a big gesture.  Start locally by volunteering or donating at food pantries or soup kitchens in your area or go here and see how Feeding America can help you help others.  Also visit the Hunger Action Center to see how you can advocate on behalf of these vital programs and others that help make sure everyone has enough to eat.