One North Carolina Housing Authority in Robeson County has plans to launch a mobile “pay-what-you-can” food bus loaded with fresh fruits, vegetables and other foods that will serve families lacking transportation. The pilot program is one of a handful across the country to receive a $100,000 dollar grant from Save the Children’s Rural Child Hunger Research and Innovation Lab to tackle rural hunger.
Colton Allen Oxendine, resident services director with the City of Lumberton’s Housing Authority, said many residents have to walk miles to the nearest grocery store because they have no transportation.
“So this bus is going to reach well over 3,000 to 5,000 people,” he said. “The goal is to make this a success.”
He said residents will be able to use debit, credit, food stamps and whatever cash they have on hand at the mobile bus, and added he expects the program to be up and running by August. According to data from UNC-Chapel Hill, more then 30% of kids living in Robeson County live in food-insecure homes.
Allen Oxendine said many housing authority residents persist largely on processed, unhealthy foods.
“A lot of them resort to the smaller stores like gas stations, Family Dollar, Dollar General. We all know they do not carry fresh fruit and vegetables,” he said.
Esther Liew, Lead Associate for Food Security Projects with Save the Children, said solutions to stop child hunger must come from within rural communities.
“What we’re hoping is that they will be able to develop ways of working that maybe look a little bit different from how these similar types of programs would work in urban settings, so that we can help them to develop solutions that are specifically for rural contexts,” Liew said.
A recent survey by Save the Children and the Child Action Network found 77% of rural parents report being worried they might not be able to afford enough food to feed their family.
Disclosure: Save the Children contributes to our fund for reporting on Children’s Issues, Early Childhood Education, Education, Poverty Issues. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.
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Mountaineer Food Bank is partnering with DoorDash to home-deliver groceries to Mercer County’s neediest families. The pilot program is one of a handful across the country to receive a $100,000 dollar grant from Save the Children’s Rural Child Hunger Research and Innovation Lab to tackle rural hunger.
One in six West Virginia kids struggles with an empty stomach every day, according to Feeding America.
Gabriela Schoolcraft, communications coordinator for Mountaineer Food Bank, explained most families in the state’s rural counties do not have a vehicle or are limited by fuel costs. She added the program, which begins this year, will initially serve 200 families.
“We’ll get the foods in Mercer County and DoorDash will meet us at a pickup location,” Schoolcraft said. “And we’ll deliver the food to families that need it within the county.”
Schoolcraft said the food bank worked with the Mercer County Board of Education to determine which families would benefit the most. She added DoorDash drivers will be paid for their deliveries, and called it a win-win to increase job security in the region while helping families.
Schoolcraft said the food boxes will be tailored to individuals’ household circumstances, noting that many families lack the resources to cook meals from scratch.
“For example, some families only have a microwave,” she said. “So if that’s the case, we’ll only provide foods that are microwave centered, but they’ll also receive fresh produce and proteins and dairies.”
Esther Liew, the Lead Associate for Food Security Projects with Save the Children, said solutions to stop child hunger must come from within rural communities.
“What we’re hoping is that they will be able to develop ways of working that maybe look a little bit different from how these similar types of programs would work in urban settings, Liew said. “So that we can help them to develop solutions that are specifically for rural contexts.”
A recent survey by Save the Children and the Child Action Network found 77% of rural parents say they are worried they might not be able to afford enough food to feed their family.
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A Republican-backed bill in the Iowa Legislature seeks to put strict new limits on which foods people could buy at the grocery store using public-assistance benefits.
House Bill 3 would limit people to items on the state’s WIC list, supplemental nutrition for Women, Infants and Children.
The bill would restrict the purchase of such items as grains, baked, refried or chili beans, and fresh and frozen meats. Even American cheese would be off-limits.
Luke Elzinga, chair of the Iowa Hunger Coalition, said the extensive list of banned items includes many foods that people rely on every day.
“No flour, butter, cooking oil,” said Elzinga. “No herbs and spices, not even salt and pepper. No bottled water. No frozen prepared goods. Even the items that are on the list are very strict in the specific brands and types of things.”
Any changes to Iowa’s nutrition assistance programs would require approval by the US Department of Agriculture.
Almost 40 Republicans support the bill, saying it is needed to ensure the “integrity” of the program. It moves next to committee.
Elzinga said the proposal sends a message that the state doesn’t trust low-income Iowans to buy the food their family needs, and ignores the choices people make based on culture, specific nutritional needs or even to avoid food allergies.
He said it would also create a stigma for shoppers who are stopped at the cash register when certain items don’t qualify.
“It has to have an effect on Iowans’ mental health, who are struggling right now to feed their families,” said Elzinga, “to hear that the state’s leadership is going to try to tell them what they can and cannot buy for their families to meet their food needs, when food prices are increasing like they have.”
The bill also requires people who receive food benefits to be working, looking for work or in job training.
It would also raise the bar to apply for Medicaid in Iowa, which Elzinga said would jeopardize people’s physical health as well.
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A big gap exists in who can receive food assistance in Oregon, and some lawmakers want to bridge the divide this session.
Federal law excludes people who are undocumented from programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the country’s largest food assistance program. The Food for All Oregonians bill would extend food aid to lawful permanent residents, US Compacts of Free Association citizens and other Oregonians who arrived as immigrants or refugees.
Aldo Solano Mendez, strategic partners manager for the Oregon Food Bank, and co-manager of the Food for All Oregonians campaign, explained the group’s goal.
“Oregon should be able to offer food assistance to all Oregonians regardless of where they were born. Currently, about 62,000 Oregonians are excluded from vital food assistance programs like SNAP simply because of immigration status or where they were born,” Mendez contended.
More than 75 organizations across Oregon have endorsed the legislation. Mendez pointed out immigrant community members and Oregonians of color are more likely to experience food insecurity. According to data from 2020, they were two to three times more likely to be food insecure than white Oregonians.
Petrona Dominguez, leadership and advocacy program coordinator for Adelante Mujeres, an organization working with Latinas, said the group hosted listening sessions with community members affected by food insecurity, which resulted in the bill.
“We asked a selection of questions and the people told us their experiences and what it meant to be accessing food, what their experiences have been and also how they might envision something that’s pertainable to them,” Dominguez explained.
Fatima Jawaid Marty, Food for All Oregonians campaign manager at the Partnership for a Hunger-Free Oregon, said ensuring people can access food assistance is also an essential part of the legislation.
“How are we making sure that our immigrant, refugee and COFA community members are outreached to, that they are able to get information in the languages that they need?” Marty asked. “And a huge part of this is having a community navigation program.”
The bill has 17 co-sponsors in the House and Senate. Lawmakers will hold a public hearing for the legislation, but it has not yet been scheduled.
Disclosure: Oregon Food Bank contributes to our fund for reporting on Budget Policy and Priorities, Community Issues and Volunteering, Hunger/Food/Nutrition, and Social Justice. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.
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