State of Hunger Transcript

September 14, 2018 – Oregon Food Bank CEO Susannah Morgan delivered a State of Hunger address on September 13 – Hunger Action Day.

Below is the transcript of her speech which includes current data on the scale of hunger and poverty in the state, programs at Oregon Food Bank that are meeting the needs of people, especially marginalized and traditionally under-served groups, and what policies are being endorsed to help address the root causes of hunger.

Today is Hunger Action Day. And I have some profoundly exciting news to share with you. I’ve worked in food banking for 22 years, and over the decades, I’ve seen hunger climb, stabilize, and then climb again. The trend has always been for hunger to get worse.

But I am delighted to announce that this year, for the first time in my career, hunger is decreasing. Not a lot, and I fundamentally believe that one person affected by hunger is one person too many. But the curve is bending down. For this precious moment in time, we are winning the fight against hunger!

So we are winning. But our lead is small and fragile; to borrow a metaphor from our beloved Trailblazers, we have a two point lead. So today I want to talk with you about what we know right now, what the numbers are telling us. I want to tell you why we are on an equity, diversity inclusion journey, why we can’t solve hunger without also tackling systemic inequities. I want to brag a bit, and tell you about our successes so far. And I want to tell you that Oregon Food Bank is visioning towards an Oregon where hunger is a distant memory.

Let’s start with a definition. Hunger means worrying about having enough nutritious food, struggling to afford enough nutritious food, eating less food than your body needs. Food insecurity means the same thing – it is just the government term that is intentionally more academic and less emotional.

So, earlier this month, the USDA released its annual report on household food insecurity – and it was this report that confirmed that hunger is decreasing. The number of Oregonians struggling to put food on the table decreased from 14.6 percent to 12.9 percent. However, 13% of Oregonian facing hunger is still unacceptable. And the other uncomfortable truth is that we still haven’t reached pre-recession levels of food insecurity in Oregon.

From our own data and research here in Oregon, we know that despite an improving economy and the lowest unemployment in our state since comparable records began in 1976, the number of people living at the Federal Poverty Level remains unchanged. The Oregonian summed it up this morning with a front page headline: “Hiring Up, But Wages Lag Behind”.

In case you don’t live and breathe hunger and poverty like I do, let me remind you that the Federal Poverty Level for a household of four people is an annual income of just $25,100. Now think about trying to cover rent, transportation, childcare, and healthcare expenses… it’s not do-able, is it? Yet a staggering 68% of households we serve report incomes at or below this amount. 78% of households with children in the home report incomes at or below this amount.

These are the very real challenges people experiencing hunger face every day. The impossibly difficult choices that too many of our fellow Oregonians must make every day.

And this is why Oregon Food Bank officially and publicly lends our support to the housing measures on the ballot this November. We fundamentally believe that poverty is a root cause of hunger. We fundamentally believe – and have heard directly from our clients – that affordable housing is a critical step towards ensuring our neighbors don’t have to make the difficult decision between rent and food.

So are we winning the fight against hunger at this very moment? Yes! … But we still need you. We hope you’ll vote in favor of the affordable housing measures on your November ballot. Take action and keep driving hunger out of our state.

Also troubling is that the U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that food insecurity rates continue to be stubbornly high among Black and Latinx households.

Our data reveals a greater percentage of Latinx in Oregon are employed, yet they are more likely to live at or below the Federal Poverty Level – through our data collection [at pantries around the state], we see that an astounding 75% of Latinx households are living below the Federal Poverty Line. They are more likely to be experiencing instability in housing situations.

And we know that systemic and institutionalized racism is contributing to these disparities. Hundreds of years of slavery, and reservations, and redlining have led to limited opportunities and resources, have led to curtailed social inclusion, have led to persistent poverty in communities of color.

At Oregon Food Bank, our mission is to eliminate hunger and its root causes. We fundamentally believe that the root cause of hunger is poverty, and that poverty itself has a root cause, systemic inequities like racism and sexism and classism. And we fundamentally believe that it is our responsibility to try to do something about it. This means that it is our job – right there in our mission statement – to work on addressing these systemic inequities.

Oregon Food Bank began its equity journey in 2015. We undertook this work knowing it would be hard. Knowing it would be complicated and messy. Knowing that this is not a left issue or a right issue, an urban issue or a rural issue, but an incredibly painful human issue. Knowing we may lose some supporters along the way – and hopefully gain new ones too! But we did it anyway because our mission says we must. I sincerely hope that every person in this room will join us in celebrating our differences and working together to overcome injustices that might divide us. Because no one – no human – should be hungry.

This is why, in addition to our support of housing measures on the November ballot, Oregon Food Bank is also officially and publicly opposing Measure 105. Measure 105 would give state and local law enforcement agencies the ability to stop, detain and interrogate any Oregonian solely on the basis to request proof of citizenship. In other words, the measure would encourage de facto racial profiling, impacting communities of color and long established immigrant communities in Oregon, reinforcing historic inequities among marginalized communities who already experience high food insecurity rates.

I can guarantee you that Measure 105 will make hunger worse. Our food pantry partners in places like Woodburn tell us that they regularly learn of families who are going hungry because they worry that asking for food assistance will bring the authorities down on them. Measure 105 will increase that culture of fear.

Oregon Food Bank Board Chair-Elect Ron Brake put it succinctly. He said, “I don’t want people coming to my country illegally. But if they are here, I don’t want them to experience harm in the form of hunger.”

So are we winning the fight against hunger at this very moment? Yes! … but we still need you. Stand with us and vote NO on Measure 105 this fall.

I have a couple of things I want to brag about as Oregon Food Bank moves into the fifth year of our five-year strategic plan – some milestones we could not have achieved without the support of everyone in this room, and many other people who have given their time, their financial support and their voice. People who have stepped up and taken action during September, which is Hunger Action Month.

More hungry people in Oregon now have access to healthy, nutrient-rich food. Fresh fruits and vegetables made up more than one third of the 100 million pounds of food we distributed to 1,200 partners and programs across the state last year.

And we’re meeting people where they already gather and providing fresh produce and pantry staples that meet dietary needs across cultures. Last spring, we surveyed 6,000 people in our service area and asked them to list their top five most important foods to receive at a food pantry – and we heard, in this order: meat, dairy, fresh fruit and vegetables, eggs, and pantry staples (things like rice, flour, cooking oil). I volunteered at the Ortiz Center Free Food Market earlier this year in NE Portland. The group of folks seeking food assistance that morning was incredibly diverse – white, brown and black; from as young as a few months to 90 years old; speaking English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Swahili, and other I couldn’t identify. I trotted out “Good Morning” in as many languages as I could remember, and I got a wonderful surprised smile from an elderly Russian lady and a return “Dobre Otro”. Every single person was delighted to receive the Oregon-grown potatoes I was passing out.

We’re reaching into and collaborating with communities who are disproportionately affected by hunger – communities of color, communities living and working in food deserts, communities of immigrants. One example of this work is our Community Ambassadors for our gardening-on-a-budget program, Seed to Supper. We’ve come to realize that many recent immigrants to the United State have mad gardening skills – because they grew food in the countries of origin. They only need a little help to grow food for their families here – they need to understand Portland growing conditions, have access to seeds and starts, and have community support. We have the curriculum and the resources, but language and culture is a barrier. So my amazing colleagues recruited three people from specific communities – from the Democratic Republic of Congo, from Ethiopia and from Russian. These Ambassadors are trained by my team and then run gardening classes within their own communities. This is equity in action at Oregon Food Bank.

More people than ever are being screened for food insecurity by their healthcare provider, and offered resources at that point of care. Oregon Food Bank is now partnering with more than 350 health care systems across the state, screening hundreds of thousands of Oregonians. And some extra cool opportunities have arisen through these new relationships. For instance, we connected with the Veterans Health System in Oregon, hoping to offer food insecurity screening at health clinics for homeless veterans. Well, this might surprise you, but it turns out the VA is one massive bureaucracy. The project got stuck for months and months. But then one day, bam! The entire VA system decided that this was a mighty fine idea – and now homeless veterans are being screened for food insecurity in VA facilities all across the country. How’s that for Oregon leading the way?

We are reaching people experiencing hunger across the state, because folks in tiny rural towns don’t deserve to be hungry, either. One big recent effort has been the Columbia Gorge Food Bank in The Dalles, serving Wasco, Hood River and Sherman counties. Our outstanding manager in The Dalles, Sharon Thornberry, identified a need for a food pantry in Rufus. Located just before the county line at the base of the John Day Dam, Rufus is more than 20 miles away from the nearest grocery store. Sharon partnered with the local City Council and the Baptist Church, and I am proud to announce that the pantry in Rufus opened this summer, literally one day after wildfires swept through the region. That pantry is now serving as many people as are served in The Dalles.

This is just some of the work you are supporting – that our community is undertaking together – thank you.

In the next six months, we are facing an enormous opportunity and an enormous threat. Both originate from the same place – Washington DC.

The opportunity is food, huge quantities of food. Due to the negative impact of trade restrictions on the agricultural sector, the federal administration has announced that it intends to purchase more than one billion dollars’ worth of US grown food crops.

In the last few weeks, we have learned that this food will be flowing, almost exclusively, through The Emergency Food Assistance Program, which flows through food banks to people experiencing hunger.

This is an unfolding situation, but it is possible that the Oregon Food Bank Network may end up with a massive increase in our food flow this year – up to 15 million pounds. That is nearly 400 truckloads.

This is great news. It is also a challenge. Oregon Food Bank has agreed, for the first time ever, to accept 56 truckloads of fluid milk. As you know, because you buy it for your own families, fluid milk is highly perishable; we will have 7 to 10 days to distribute it from Portland, to regional food banks, to partner agencies, to families experiencing hunger. We’ve never tried that large a perishable distribution before. But because dairy is at the top of list of items desired by people experiencing hunger, we are going to find a way.

There will also be apples and frozen pork and many other items.

We are winning the fight against hunger – and this extra food will help keep our lead.

And then there is the biggest threat, also coming out of DC. And as many of you are aware, Congress is working on the farm bill right now and discussing potential cuts to SNAP benefits – commonly known as food stamps.

SNAP is the single most important weapon in the fight against hunger. Through SNAP, 625,000 Oregonians get money each month on a debit card that can only be spent on groceries. SNAP brings nearly a billion dollars of grocery purchasing power into our state, into our rural grocery stores, into the homes or our neighbors struggling with hunger.

SNAP helps those who need it most. The data shows that most adults who receive SNAP are working or looking for work. Others accessing SNAP are elderly or have a disability. Children make up 44% of SNAP beneficiaries. The data also shows that SNAP is proven to lift people out of poverty.

And SNAP is under attack. Late last year, Congress passed a tax overhaul that sparked conversation about entitlement programs, like SNAP.

The farm bill conversations include options that could reduce benefits – which is government talk for cutting the amount of grocery dollars families receive. Congress is considering options to restrict eligibility – which is government talk for removing grocery dollars completely from some families.

And it’s all happening NOW. The farm bill expires at the end of this month! Talk about irony during Hunger Action Month…

We remain engaged and diligent in our advocacy efforts to protect SNAP and we will not stand for policy changes that chip away at programs protecting the most vulnerable in our communities.

We know our Congressional Delegation stands with us. At the end of August, Oregon Food Bank experienced a first in our history – a visit by both Senator Wyden and Merkley to our facility on the same day – and how both remain committed to supporting Oregonians and doing everything they can to prevent cuts to SNAP. Rep. Bonamici also recently held a press event at OFB West to clearly state her opposition to SNAP cuts.

So are we winning the fight against hunger at this very moment? Yes! … but we still need you. Stand with us and remind our Congressional Delegation to do everything in their power to protect SNAP.

So here we are. We are winning the fight against hunger at this moment – but our lead is tiny and fragile. We are making good progress on providing fresh food, and we are collaborating with communities of color – but there is a long way to go before we can confidently proclaim that Oregon is hunger-free.

But we are going to get there. Oregon is closer than any other state in the country to making this vision a reality. Why? Because the infrastructure of food assistance has been built – in the form of a tremendous and so far unduplicated statewide Network of 21 regional food banks and more than 1,200 programs and partners.

Because there is a 35 year history of collaboration and working together and thinking broadly about things across the rural urban divide and across political boundaries – and hunger is an issue that crosses all of those differences.

Because we have grappled with the fact that systemic inequities like racism fuel hunger – and when we name the problem, we can start to solve it. We can authentically engage marginalized communities and help them tackle hunger in ways that honor their autonomy and experience.

Because this is an agricultural state. We grow more than 200 commercial food crops. We literally have enough food here in Oregon to feed everyone who needs assistance. High quality, healthy, locally grown food. And we have tremendous agricultural partners who are committed to ending hunger.

And most importantly, because Oregon Food Bank is only as powerful as the community who supports us – and our community is powerful beyond measure. Hundreds of thousands Oregonians each year volunteer at a food pantry or at a food bank, make a financial donation, contribute food, or advocate with us for change.

We are winning the fight against hunger. We will keep winning (1) if we don’t have a recession in the next 12 months, (2) if nothing horrible happens to the federal safety net and SNAP is strengthened, not cut, (3) if our community stands together against hunger and poverty and racism.

And by our community, I mean you and me. Fighting hunger is the work of each and every one of us. By joining us here today – on this Hunger Action Day – you have stepped up, you have joined us and you have taken action. By joining us here today, you are supporting our neighbors in need, lifting up your community. By joining us here today, you are doing something good and right.

I honor you, and I thank you. But I also ask you to go back to your office, or your neighborhood, or your church, and urge your coworkers and family and friends to take action too. So that one year I can stand in front of you and announce that hunger no longer exists in Oregon.