poverty and food insecurity. poverty in wisconsin

Poverty and Food Insecurity

Poverty and Food Insecurity

Poverty in WisconsinPoverty in Wisconsin

Food InsecurityFood Insecurity

• “Food insecurity is the limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe food to sustain an active, healthy life or a limited or uncertain ability to acquire food in socially acceptable ways.” (Second Harvest FoodBank of Southwestern WI)

• Food insecure households do not have certain access to food.

• Food insecure households report running out of food without having money to buy more, cutting back on the size of meals, or having to skip meals altogether. (UW-Extension, Report on Poverty and Food Insecurity in Wisconsin and Dane County.)

• “Food insecurity is the limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe food to sustain an active, healthy life or a limited or uncertain ability to acquire food in socially acceptable ways.” (Second Harvest FoodBank of Southwestern WI)

• Food insecure households do not have certain access to food.

• Food insecure households report running out of food without having money to buy more, cutting back on the size of meals, or having to skip meals altogether. (UW-Extension, Report on Poverty and Food Insecurity in Wisconsin and Dane County.)

What populations are most vulnerable to food insecurity?

What populations are most vulnerable to food insecurity?

• Children

• Single-parent households

• Working poor

• People on fixed income - people with disabilities, seniors, etc

• Children

• Single-parent households

• Working poor

• People on fixed income - people with disabilities, seniors, etc

Some federal programs have effectively

addressed poverty

Some federal programs have effectively

addressed poverty • Social Security

• Earned Income Tax Credit  

• Medicare, Medicaid

• FoodShare (formerly Food Stamps) – An effective tool during the Great Recession with recipients numbering 46 million (2012) up from 26.3 million in 2007.

• Social Security

• Earned Income Tax Credit  

• Medicare, Medicaid

• FoodShare (formerly Food Stamps) – An effective tool during the Great Recession with recipients numbering 46 million (2012) up from 26.3 million in 2007.

How does FoodShare help alleviate poverty?How does FoodShare

help alleviate poverty?• Second Harvest of Southwestern WI estimates that 2

out of 3 seniors are not receiving eligible benefits for FoodShare.

• The minimum an eligible senior can receive is $16 per month.

• In Dane County, if all potentially eligible seniors received this minimum benefit it would contribute $80,000 to the local food economy.

• Considering the “multiplier effect” this amount is greater: It has been estimated that every FoodShare dollar spent contributes $3 to the economy.

• Second Harvest of Southwestern WI estimates that 2 out of 3 seniors are not receiving eligible benefits for FoodShare.

• The minimum an eligible senior can receive is $16 per month.

• In Dane County, if all potentially eligible seniors received this minimum benefit it would contribute $80,000 to the local food economy.

• Considering the “multiplier effect” this amount is greater: It has been estimated that every FoodShare dollar spent contributes $3 to the economy.

Other factors that effect access to food

Other factors that effect access to food

• Fixed income, increasing food costs

• No local grocery, farmers market, garden space

• Limited food bank hours, selection

• Lack of reliable transportation

• Health limitations, dietary concerns

• Social isolation, lack of common cultural connection

• Fixed income, increasing food costs

• No local grocery, farmers market, garden space

• Limited food bank hours, selection

• Lack of reliable transportation

• Health limitations, dietary concerns

• Social isolation, lack of common cultural connection

Fixed Income

Transportation

Health NeedsSocial

IsolationCulture

Connecting CommunityConnecting Community

Other Mutual Aid Networks

that address food insecurity

Other Mutual Aid Networks

that address food insecurity

• Fair Trade Neighborhood Project - Bringing together producers and consumers through relocalizing our food/farm economy (Reedsburg/La Valle)

• Oneida Tsyunhekwa Project - restoring access to traditional culturally appropriate foods (Oneida/Green Bay)

• Dane County TimeBank Garden Project - Neighbors helping neighbors to build gardens and plant.

• Fair Trade Neighborhood Project - Bringing together producers and consumers through relocalizing our food/farm economy (Reedsburg/La Valle)

• Oneida Tsyunhekwa Project - restoring access to traditional culturally appropriate foods (Oneida/Green Bay)

• Dane County TimeBank Garden Project - Neighbors helping neighbors to build gardens and plant.

What does food security look like in your

community?

What does food security look like in your

community?