Oped: Battling food insecurity with the right tools
As Virginia Woolf wrote, “One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.” Food security – having reliable access to nutritious foods – is one of the most fundamental human needs. The U.N. Committee on World Food Security describes this as having the “physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets [people’s] dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.”
Yet, according to Feeding America, the nation’s largest network of food banks, one in 11 New Jerseyans face food insecurity, a number that likely underestimates the total impact. These gaps in food security are not experienced equally across the state. They are higher in places like Trenton, where more residents face physical, social, and economic challenges that inhibit their ability to afford and access nutritious food.
Since 2019, Trenton Health Team (THT), one of New Jersey’s four Regional Health Hubs (RHHs), has been working to increase food security in the Trenton area. THT, in partnership with Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Mercer County, co-facilitates and staffs the Mercer County Food Stakeholders (MCFS), a collaborative of more than 50 organizations, from food safety net providers to local farmers, that supports our region’s response to food insecurity through resource mobilization, service coordination, and data analytics and mapping.
Together with MCFS, THT created the Mercer County Food Insecurity Index (MCFII), an online tool that documents the prevalence and distribution of food insecurity across the county. We also developed the Free Food Finder web app. Geared to residents seeking food, it is available through any internet browser and can be filtered by type of food/service, location, hours of operation, and accessibility, making it easy for people to find the resources that meet their needs.
Through this work, we have identified areas with high likelihood of food insecurity and limited food resources, bringing a data-driven approach to defining the realities we and our partners see in our day to day work. Food insecurity is not just a challenge in Trenton – the need exists in Hamilton, Ewing, Lawrence, East Windsor, Hightstown, Princeton, and beyond.
THT has supported our MCFS partners and others in making better informed strategic and programmatic decisions on emergency food services, food access, and the common geographic or socioeconomic barriers that impact food security.
During the pandemic, MCFS was a critical mechanism for coordinating emergency response and relief efforts. The need for food was high and the community responded with resources to support those whose income was disrupted. But, while the pandemic has waned, the demand for food assistance is actually greater today than it was at the height of the pandemic. Living costs have risen and affordable housing is scarce, leading more individuals to rely on supplemental food. Our partners like the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen (TASK) and HomeFront have reported some of their highest numbers ever of people coming to them for food.
Thankfully, the State of New Jersey is leading the way to address this need. New Jersey has created a guaranteed minimum benefit of $95/month for participants in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (or SNAP) and has established the Office of the Food Security Advocate (OFSA), the first of its kind in the country. OFSA has recognized THT for their multisector convening work and use of community informed data, and the entities are partnering together to bring the innovations developed in Mercer County to other areas of the State.
The time to act is now. Several of our partners, including TASK, HomeFront, the Rescue Mission, Arm in Arm, Jewish Family & Children’s Services, and Mercer Street Friends, are committed to working with OFSA and coordinating their efforts to best serve the community. They laid out their commitment in an op ed in November 2023. We are actively supporting and engaged in their efforts.
As we remembered the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s service to the nation on Monday, January 15th, it’s important to note that food insecurity exists every day, not just on holidays. If preparing to join your friends and families in important acts of service over the coming days, please think about your neighbors in need and how you might support them tomorrow and each day after that. For more information, please reach out to Matthew Broad, Senior Program Manager for Trenton Health Team at mbroad@trentonhealthteam.org.
