It’s Easy to Take Food for Granted

The ease of grabbing a protein bar from your pantry each morning. The certainty of having dinner waiting for you when you come home from work – and leftovers for tomorrow’s lunch.

We’ve all felt the pangs of hunger, but we also may have taken for granted the ease and certainty of having food around whenever we want or need it.

For many of our neighbors, it’s not as simple. In fact, last year Interfaith’s food shelf served nearly 2,700 individuals who needed food. They’re experiencing what we call food insecurity, which is limited or unreliable access to adequate food.

How or why does hunger – food insecurity – happen? Well, the reason is different for everyone.

One leading factor is lack of income. Nearly 70% of our food shelf guests live in households that qualify as extremely-low income – less than 30% of the area’s median income. Once the rent or mortgage is paid, there is only a few hundred dollars remaining, at most, to cover groceries, bills and other expenses.

Another factor is disability, which can come with persistent healthcare-related expenses, limited income opportunities, and barriers to reliable transportation.

Divorce, illness, unexpected emergencies (like major home or car repairs) and so many other circumstances can also lead to food insecurity. But the common thread – and the core of Interfaith’s mission – is that everyone’s basic needs must be met.

This spring, we hope you’ll choose to support Interfaith – and help meet our neighbors’ basic need for food as we recognize the Minnesota FoodShare March Campaign and our annual Prevent Hunger effort.

Whether you sign up to volunteer in our food shelf, coordinate a group food drive or make a financial gift to Interfaith’s programs, you’re helping us create a strong and vibrant community.

And we don’t take that for granted.

With gratitude,

Kevin Ward
Executive Director