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Reflections on the 2016 National Anti-Hunger Policy Conference: Political Will Required to End Hunger
Diana Aviv, the new chief executive officer of Feeding America, and Jim Weill, the president of the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC), wrote a blog piece the morning of March 1st, the last day of the National Anti-Hunger Policy Conference, titled "Political will is key to ending hunger in America," urging Congress to listen to the anti-hunger advocates that were gathered for the conference and headed to their offices to lobby. Below are excerpts from the blog article: That is why, today, our advocates are asking Congress to: - Pass a strong Child Nutrition Reauthorization soon to help children get the nutritious food they need at school, in child care, on weekends, and over long summer breaks.
- Maintain the current structure of, and strengthen, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and other federal nutrition programs that provide much-needed food for millions of low-income Americans; help keep families out of poverty; respond well to changes in the economy, to natural disasters and to families' changing needs.
If our nation is to be strong, healthy and prosperous, we must first ensure that people have enough to eat to thrive and to reach their full potential. We can end hunger, but it requires political will. Congress can and must lead this effort by declaring that they, too, are ready to #endhungernow.
The National Anti-Hunger Policy Conference is an important space where anti-hunger advocates gather annually to learn from each other and show up by the hundreds at the offices of Congressional Representatives and Senators to educate our policy makers about the falsehood of stigmatizing people who seek help from our federal nutrition assistance programs and to encourage them to continue to fund and support programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) as a critical first step out of poverty.
The government nutrition programs are critical to getting healthy food to families, seniors, veterans, and individuals struggling to make ends meet each and every day. They must be protected and strengthened. However, alone these programs will not eradicate hunger in our country. And, at the largest national gathering of hunger advocates in the country, could we be perhaps missing the opportunity to advocate our elected officials to go beyond securing access to healthy food and to address the economic inequality, racism and health disparities that undermine the long-term goal of ending hunger? Are we missing the opportunity to bring hundreds of advocates to the Hill to deliver a strong intersectional message that addresses the root causes of hunger, not just the symptoms?
The conference has been an important space for the anti-hunger community to gather, learn and take action. But it has the potential to be so much more impactful if, for instance, we encouraged the participation, voices and perspectives of people with lived experiences of hunger and poverty, and authentically incorporated them into the advocacy and priority setting that occurs at this conference. Addressing the intersections of race, class and oppression that perpetuate hunger in certain communities, especially communities of color, while acknowledging, and beginning to address, the power dynamics and privilege at play at this conference and in the anti-hunger space itself would be a huge step towards shaping a new, more complete narrative about hunger and poverty and the authentic pathways towards dismantling the deep inequities that perpetuate these entrenched social problems. Making these conversations a priority in gatherings like the National Anti-Hunger Policy Conference, and by advocating alongside people who experience hunger and poverty, our anti-hunger community could transform our shared understanding of and response to hunger in the US.
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"The Concentration of Poverty in American Schools"
Researchers have found that the single-most powerful predictor of racial gaps in educational achievement is the extent to which students attend schools surrounded by other low-income students. This new analysis of federal data shows that in almost all major American cities, most African American and Hispanic students attend public schools where a majority of their classmates qualify as poor or low-income. This systemic economic and racial isolation is a huge obstacle for efforts to make a quality education available to all American students. Read more about this analysis here.
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"The Black Panther: A Food Justice Story"
The Black Panther Party (BPP) has once again become a topic of heated public controversy. Garrett Broad, an assistant professor at Fordham University in New York City, describes the BPP's interest in food as both a nutritional necessity and an organizing tool. The article also questions why there has not been a widespread conversation on food justice in the good food movement. Read more here.
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The Center for Media and Social Impact has released a report by Deen Freelon, assistant professor of Communication at American University, Charlton D. McIlwain, associate professor of Media, Culture and Communication and Associate Dean for Faculty Development and Diversity at New York University and Meredith D. Clark, assistant professor of Digital and Print News at the University of North Texas, which examines the movement's uses of online media in 2014 and 2015. The report details findings such as:
- Protesters and their supporters were generally able to circulate their own narratives without relying on mainstream news outlets.
- There are six major communities that consistently discussed police brutality on Twitter in 2014 and 2015: Black Lives Matter, Anonymous/Bipartisan Report, Black Entertainers, Conservatives, Mainstream News, and Young Black Twitter.
- The vast majority of the communities observed supported justice for the victims and decisively denounced police brutality.
- The primary goals of social media used among interviewees were education, amplification of marginalized voices, and structural police reform.
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Contributors: Betty Fermin
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