Hunger and Humanity series: Why ending hunger is about more than food
Hunger and Humanity series: Why ending hunger is about more than food
Hunger isn’t just about food — it’s about the hard choices families face every day. For many of us, the stress of making ends meet affects every part of life. Paying for food often means giving up something else we need. Rent or groceries? Childcare or transportation? These impossible choices leave too many families unsure of where their next meal will come from.
High medical bills, rising housing costs and expensive childcare trap many of us in cycles of hardship. One in 8 people and 1 in 6 kids in Oregon and Southwest Washington face food insecurity — from Ontario to Portland to Clark County. As the gap between the wealthy and the rest of us grows, more of us are barely getting by. And there is no good reason why — we live in a country where there are more than enough resources to go around.
Food is a human right. No one should have to choose between a meal and other basic needs. To truly end hunger, we have to address the unfair systems that create it. And that means working toward food justice — a world where things like race, gender and poverty through generations do not determine who has access to food.
Understanding hunger as part of a larger problem of unfairness — or injustice — helps us get food to more people today and advocate for long-term change. This means doing work beyond food banking! For example, at Oregon Food Bank, we’ve increased the number of multilingual staff and volunteers in our food pantries, so people who don’t speak English can feel welcome and supported. And in 2023, we also helped pass a state law to ensure Indigenous language speakers have access to interpretation services.
Our Hunger and Humanity series shines a light on a few of the areas where hunger and injustice are connected. We invite you to read on to learn more about the connection between hunger and other issues faced by our communities, and how Oregon Food Bank addresses these issues head-on. You will also find local resources and opportunities for more learning:
Want to take action on these issues?
