TekStream Solutions’ Post

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Tackling food insecurity requires a multi pronged approach. So great to see CFBNJ’s forward thinking in action with a focus on health and nutrition, innovative food distribution and wrap around services!

‘I hate April’. So said someone we are supporting in a foodbank this week. As we at Your Own Place CIC have our own internal conversations about the need to withdraw from foodbanks due to uncertainty and late decision-making on funding, it turns out that the people we support are not unaware of what the end of the financial year means. By early March at the latest, we need to know where our team are going to be in April. No news on funding means we have to start letting people, partners and volunteers in foodbanks know so that we can neatly and respectfully close that service when the funding ends - end of March unless we hear otherwise. The wasteful annual funding cycle means that organisations lose staff, partnerships, momentum and ultimately have to end the service that is so desperately needed and that so much time, trust and money has been leveraged to start. That this has an impact on people and communities is visible and felt as they see projects, organisations and support in communities come and go. 😞 #funding #wasteful #vcse #communities #prevention #safeandsecurehome

To note, food insecurity also rose among households with children (in 2022, 17.3%; in 2023, 17.9%). As someone who’s worked on food assistance programs, and as someone who benefited from these programs in the past, these latest figures are both frustrating and remind us that we haven’t figured things out just yet. I think of all the staff tirelessly operating federal food assistance programs across the country, all the families, and children, who benefit or have yet to benefit from these programs, and all of the smart folks trying to develop solutions. To those fighting the good fight - keep going and keep getting creative about the food system. And to those who can, please support local food assistance organizations (donate AND volunteer your time). And to partners working on economic opportunities for families - keep innovating! https://lnkd.in/eYUmwuKF

It’s easier to take than to give. It’s nobler to give than to take. The thrill of taking lasts a day. The thrill of giving lasts a lifetime. – Joan Marques. We are excited to share the variety of nutritious food items distributed yesterday at the Touch of Love Food Bank, located at Sacred Heart Church. Together, we’re not just filling plates; we’re fuelling hope and driving positive change. 💪 With the rising cost of food, more than one in ten families, according to Food Standards Scotland (FSS), are relying on food banks and pantries to make ends meet. The cost of living crisis has made it harder for many families to prioritize a healthy diet, with recent surveys from Food Standards Scotland (FSS) showing that nearly two out of three Scottish adults are worried about their household finances. This shift in financial priorities has affected what families can eat and how they shop. Every meal that Touch of Love shares brings closer a community without hunger. Through our food bank, we are helping to ease the burden of rising food costs by providing essential, nutritious food items. Each week, we offer parcels that ensure families have enough to sustain them until their next visit. 🌟 #TouchOfLove #Aberdeen #foodbank

Running a #foodbank has been one of the most rewarding and challenging roles I've ever held. This recent article on TEFAP’s role in #hunger relief is both enlightening and frustrating. It's enlightening because it showcases the vital support #TEFAP provides, especially for food banks in socioeconomically vulnerable communities. For them, TEFAP may represent a substantial portion of the food available for distribution. Yet, it's frustrating to feel the #paternalistic undertones that persist within this government program and, unfortunately, within philanthropic thought and attitudes as well. I applaud the WSCAH CEO and CPO for taking a stand to break these institutional cycles. The requirement for people to prove their neediness, often through invasive data collection, is a stark reminder of how we sometimes approach poverty with a "blame the victim" mentality. Asking families to constantly declare their poverty—sometimes more than once a year—strips away dignity and reinforces stigma. No wonder there is shame and stigma surrounding hunger relief. Why do we continue to set these barriers? Is it truly about accountability, or are we failing to trust and respect those who seek help? It's time to challenge these practices and advocate for a system that supports people without making them feel less-than. For many, these programs are lifelines, not luxuries. I've seen people wait in line for hours, sometimes in the heat and sometimes in the rain, to receive food at a distribution. I don't think anyone chooses to live this way. We need to rethink how we implement #safetynetprograms, ensuring they #empower rather than hinder. What possible future can we imagine and create? Let's use #futuresthinking and #foresight skills to envision and work toward a more compassionate and equitable system where dignified food access is available for all. #HungerRelief #SocialJustice #Poverty #FoodSecurity #Equity #HumanDignity #socialdeterminantsofhealth #SDOH #SystemChange

Canada’s $1 billion investment over five years aims to provide meals to an additional 400,000 children annually, complementing existing efforts. This reminds me of India’s Mid Day Meal scheme, which has been instrumental in ensuring millions of children receive nutritious meals, enhancing both health and educational outcomes. Having worked on the mid day meal scheme programs in North India, comparing the two scenarios it’s interesting to observe there is no linear approach to development concerns. While India had implemented its Mid Day Meal scheme years ago, it continues to evolve and adapt to new challenges and needs. In a welcoming move, Canada is now embarking on its journey with the National School Food Program, demonstrating that solutions must constantly evolve to address changing circumstances. This dichotomy highlights the necessity of context-specific strategies in addressing social issues. More to come!

Appreciate Crystal Edmonson and Atlanta Business Chronicle spotlighting the extraordinary level of demand for food assistance that we're seeing right now across metro Atlanta and North Georgia. In June, 250,000 households visited food pantries affiliated with the Atlanta Community Food Bank. That's about 12% of our total population that went to a pantry to get food in the month of June. We're moving more food than we ever have - more than 500,000 lbs of food a day - and it's not enough. Driven by inflation, housing costs and healthcare costs, the economic pressure on low- and moderate-income families is intense, urgent and unsustainable. The Food Bank of course needs community support to continue responding aggressively. But we also need policy solutions that get more resources to these families and alleviate some of that pressure: * We need Congress to pass a Farm Bill that supports farmers and increases resources for families and food banks * We need Congress to pass the expanded Child Tax Credit, which would support more than 600,000 kids in Georgia * We need Georgia to opt into the Summer EBT program to provide additional resources to kids on free/reduced lunch while they're out of school * We need lawmakers at all levels to listen to constituents and realize how many of our neighbors are struggling right now ... and then make expanding resources for these families a top priority. In the meantime, we'll be working hard with all of you to get our neighbors the food they need. https://lnkd.in/gpYG7HgH https://lnkd.in/gZGGZDW2

Latest figures from Trussell community of food banks, spanning three quarters of the UK’s local authorities, are devastating. The rate at which their emergency food parcels have been distributed is nearly 70% higher than it was five years ago. But what of the emergency food parcels distributed by a plethora of independent food banks alongside the food support provided by a myriad of community kitchens, social supermarkets, food pantries and soup kitchens? And what of the vast majority of severely food insecure households which don’t access any kind of food bank or food aid at all? Read more in my opinion piece for the Big Issue #CashFirst https://lnkd.in/eT_FfH7G

Food insecurity is not a new challenge, but one made worse by the pandemic. Now, food pantries, food banks, government agencies and philanthropic supporters are stepping up their efforts and evolving to better meet the needs of the community. This article is part of The Change Project, a series by NJ Spotlight News examining NJ’s social and economic challenges and focusing on promising actions that have led to positive change. #ChangeProjectNJ