As we all already know, many people in Washington State and across the country have been severely affected by the recession that began in 2008.  It is evident, with high foreclosure rates, slow job growth, and rising unemployment, that families are struggling; however, one of the more tangible consequences of the economic downturn is the number of hungry people.  Since 2008, the number of people experiencing food insecurity in Washington has doubled: from 88,000 in 2008 to over 160,000 in the close…

Last Thursday’s Hunger Action Forum was the perfect precursor to this week being Hunger Action Week. One thing was clear from all of the large- and small-group sessions: It’s not just United Way of King County who’s talking about shining a light on hunger in our community.

Forum-goers talked about everything hunger: obesity and widespread access to nutritious food, summer meals for kids on subsidized school meal programs, cooking classes, community gardens, food delivery for seniors and…

I figured I’d start out this post with a old adage I’ve heard more than a few times in the past week:

“A hungry man is an angry man”

Ellen Gustafson started off her presentation at the Hunger Action Forum with this quote, and in her work with a military defense think tank, she found it to be true – areas where there is very low food security are the same areas of the world that are the most violent and…

At first glance it is easy to make the connection between hunger and agriculture – after all, our food comes from farms, so if there is hunger there must be something wrong with our farming practices, right?  However the nuances of this web of relationships are more complex and meaningful than meets the eye.  From the selective subsidies in the Farm Bill to poor working conditions and pay for farm workers to the consolidation of “Big Ag”, the way we have been producing our food…

To Plan… 

The folks over at Rainier Valley Food Bank are showing us just how important planning is to this challenge.  The Executive Director of the food bank, Sam Osborne, writes that although he is a thrifty shopper and a practical cook, the “very thought of shopping for food on a budget is giving me the willies”. Follow Sam as he gets over his shopping-on-a-budget phobia and finds a way to spend only $18 a day for his family of three.…

The Hunger-Obesity Paradox

It is hard for many to believe that there is a hunger problem in America when the same population that is hungry is also often excessively overweight.  This paradox forces us to look at hunger in a different way: not starving, but food insecure.  This means that nearly 50 million people in America have at some point been unsure where their next meal is coming from, don’t have enough money to buy the basics and pay rent and utilities, or have trouble…

With food bank use up 30%, the donation of nonperishable food items couldn’t have come at a better time! Whitepage.com employees decided that their participation in Hunger Action Week was going to be in the form of a food drive, and they collected quite the bounty in a very short time (just 2 weeks).  It was such a delight to help unload the fully packed Subaru on Sunday, March 18^th at the Microsoft Store in University Village. They had collected an assortment of items that…

Why focus on hunger?

As we go through our daily routines, living, working, and playing in a community as beautiful and abundant as Seattle and King County, it’s hard to think that anyone here, or in our great country, can possibly be going hungry – but it’s true.  Often an invisible problem, hunger and food insecurity affects 1 in 6 Americans – that’s 49 million people (Source).  Right here in King County 13% of our population is food insecure and 1 in 5…

You should sign up for Hunger Action Week because…

10. You can get a really cool orange button to spice up any outfit! This is a no-brainer. Sign up for HungerAction Week, and then email mwinkler@uwkc.org with your button request.

9. “Sesame Street” is talking about it! The show introduced “Lily” in a recent special—a 7-year-old Muppet who is food-insecure and shows how community gardens and the kindness of neighbors can help.

8. We are all excited about “The Hunger Games” movie…

United Way of King County is shining a bright light on hunger and we’re asking everyone including teenagers and children to think about their relationship to food.   Who has food, who doesn’t, where does your food come from?

As parents or educators you might be wondering how you can get your children/students involved in Hunger Action Week. Whole families can participate in the Hunger Challenge (eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner, spending only $7 a day—the same amount allotted to a single person on food stamps),…