Themes
Community Food Security
To build a safe, just and sustainable food system we need many different kinds of people, organizations and businesses within a community to work together to increase access to healthy, affordable, fresh food produced and processed locally.
Food Systems and Agriculture
A regional, diverse agricultural base is key to a secure food system that responds to the needs of the entire community. Producing, processing and purchasing food closer to the market translates to a stronger local economy, reduced fuel use, a healthy environment and access to fresher foods.
Global Hunger
Today close to a billion people worldwide are hungry and 16,000 children die of hunger each day. What are the root causes and consequences of hunger in a world of abundant food, and where do we find the real solutions?
Poverty
43.6 million people in the U.S. are poor. With persistent poverty comes the erosion of opportunity for a better life. Government intervention is essential but so are innovative community-based solutions that help meet basic needs while strengthening the community’s social fabric.
U.S. Hunger and Nutrition
Over 49 million people live in “food insecure” households. Diet-related disease has been steadily escalating the last 30 years mirroring the rise of processed, less nutritious foods and the scarcity of accessible fresh fruits and vegetables resulting in food deserts in many regions of the country.
The global food system – from how our food is produced to what we do with our food waste – accounts for an estimated one-third of greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, scientists and experts are beginning to recognize the potential of sustainable and small-scale farming to help reduce global emissions and foster food systems that are more resilient to impending climate chaos. More >>
The Food and Farm Bill drives food policy in the U.S. It determines what we eat, how much food costs, and where and how it is grown. WhyHunger supports legislation that is fair for farmers, consumers, workers, and everyone else along the food chain. We believe in improving nutrition for everyone; ending hunger; building regional food and farm economies; creating jobs; fostering innovation and sustainable practices farming practices; and ensuring fair wages for food and farm workers. More >>
Food deserts are concentrated areas short on access to healthy food – fresh produce and meat – even while convenience stores and fast-food outlets flourish. These communities often paradoxically experience both obesity and poverty. Barriers to accessing healthy food in these areas are both economic (low incomes) and physical (lack of transportation or absence of fresh food retailers). More >>
In a nutshell, food sovereignty is the right of peoples, communities, and countries to define their own seed, agricultural, pastoral, labor, fishing, food and land policies which are ecologically, socially, economically, and culturally appropriate to their unique circumstances. It includes the true right to food and to produce food. Food sovereignty began as a movement of marginalized peoples demanding that their voice be heard in the official world of UN agencies and governments. It has grown into a new mindset that will lead to more just and ecological food and farming systems, new democratic decision-making in governments, and new international market cooperation aimed at fair prices for farmers. More >>
Food has long been a centerpiece of religious observance. For centuries and even millennia, such ritualistic meals haven’t much changed. Recently, however, faith communities in America are taking a keen interest in everyday meals, especially how their food is grown -- an interest that stems from the realization that food is a social justice issue or a sense that caring for creation necessitates getting your hands in the soil. More >>
Urban agriculture is the growing, processing and distributing of food and other products through intensive plant cultivation and animal husbandry in and around cities. Urban agriculture in the U.S. and Canada builds food security among the urban and suburban poor who increasingly see city farming as a means to gaining access to fresh, local, and healthy food. More >>
In the food justice movement, the time is right for young people to take the lead. They have the greatest stake in the future – and given the current statistics on obesity and health, where one-third of children and adolescents are overweight or obese and one in three will develop diabetes over the course of their lives (a number that increases to almost one half for children of color), they have the most to lose. But as Slow Food USA President Josh Viertel told Slow Food's International Congress in 2008, "There is bad news and good news about the youth of America. The bad news is that this is the first generation in America predicted to have a shorter life expectancy than its parents. The good news is that there is a group of young people who are determined to change that." More >>
