Consider This! Simplifying the COVID-19 conversation – Cultivate Food Rescue and Food Security

This week, hosts Heidi Beidinger-Burnett, Director, Eck Institute for Global Health and Mary Ann McDowell, Associate Professor of Biological Sciences were joined by guests Jim Conklin, President and Co-Founder of Cultivate Food Rescue and Marijo Martinec, Executive Director and CEO of the Food Bank of Northern Indiana. The pandemic affects the way many different systems operate, and this discussion centers around the pandemic’s effect on food pantries. These guests were brought in to discuss how the food pantries and food rescue operations of St. Joseph County have been impacted by the pandemic, and how they have endured. 

The event began with the introduction of the guests, who both do incredible work to fight hunger in the St. Joseph County community. Then, the “Rumor Has It” segment of the show began. Beidinger presented the first rumor, which was that 50% of America’s food goes to waste and is thrown out. Conklin responded that:  “It is 40% in the U.S. and globally it is about ⅓ of the food that is manufactured…it adds about 8% to carbon emissions.” By doing the work that he does, which includes taking food that would otherwise be thrown away, freezing it, and giving it to those in need, he not only fights hunger but helps alleviate the carbon footprint as well. The second rumor was that pantries are closing due to a lack of volunteers. Thankfully, Martinec stated that this rumor is not true, although hours have been altered due to the pandemic.

Next, Beidinger presented current data regarding hunger in the country. According to data that she collected, Beidinger stated that “Before the pandemic hit, about 10% of U.S. households were facing food insecurity, and now, according to a study that was done by Northwestern University, that number went up to 23%…another study found it was ⅓ of households.” Martinec then shed light on what food insecurity really is. She explained that it can be defined as people not having regular enough access to food to live a healthy lifestyle. Devastatingly, one in six adults and one in four children in St. Joseph County suffered from food insecurity as of December of 2020. Conklin and Martinec then raved about the heroic work that South Bend schools were doing to reduce food insecurity for children in the area during the pandemic. 

Food pantries are three to four times busier than they were in November/December of 2019. Martinec explained that those utilizing these services are people who live without the safety blanket of a savings account; they live paycheck to paycheck, and when that money is not available, they begin to sacrifice food in order to pay other necessary bills. Due to  this desperation, and the fact that the distribution of food has turned to no-contact, Martinec explained that no matter the weather, people will wait hours and hours outside of her pantry for a meal.

Next, the hosts asked what the guests wanted the community to know about food insecurity. Martinec said that they are currently in a marathon; it will take years to recover from the pandemic and the food insecurity that it has caused. She called for the community’s help in addressing it. Conklin said that it is important for people to educate themselves. Moreover, he said that there is little structure in how they feed people. They rely on smaller, likely under-resourced food pantries in order to get food to the local level, where it is needed. They are trying to more efficiently feed the community during this time. 

Finally, an audience member asked what policy changes can be made to combat food insecurity. Martinec stated that the living wage definitely needs to be looked at and changed. Thus, people would rely on food pantries less. Conklin stated that nationally, more institutions such as schools should get involved in giving food donations. 

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