This week, I investigated the issue of food insecurity specifically in Massachusetts. I also continued to work on the goal of spreading the word about produce donation, to include the daunting task of starting an Instagram account, which I will discuss at the end of this post.
As I shared last week, according to Feeding America’s “Map the Meal Gap”, 9.6% of Massachusetts residents are faced with food insecurity. This means that 652,760 people in Massachusetts are food insecure. Within Massachusetts, this rate varies by county. In Essex county, the rate is the lowest in the state, at 7.3%. The highest rate of food insecurity is found in Suffolk county, where it is 14.2%. See the state data table here.
652,760 people in Massachusetts are food insecure, including 167,450 children. Children face a higher rate of food insecurity at 12.1%, versus 9.6% of the overall state population.
The sad fact is that the rate of child food insecurity is higher than that of the overall population. In Massachusetts, 12.1% of children are food insecure, as compared to the overall rate of 9.6%. It was interesting to note the geographic differences between overall rates of food insecurity and those for child food insecurity. When looking specifically at child food insecurity, the rate ranges from 8.8% in Norfolk county to 16.0% in Hampden county.
Check out this infographic that depicts the estimated $2.4 billion in health care costs – in Massachusetts alone – that could be addressed with improved nutrition and food security. This $2.4 billion figure is based on research conducted by Dr. John T. Cook and Dr. Ana Poblacion, and sponsored by the Greater Boston Food Bank. The full report describes why food insecurity is directly associated with these health care costs, and additionally, why their work only provides a “conservative partial estimate” of the cost of food insecurity.
According to Dr. John T. Cook and Dr. Ana Poblacion, in Massachusetts alone, a “conservative partial estimate” of the cost of food insecurity is $2.4 billion
There are various efforts to address the problem of food insecurity. Take a look at my resources page - I started filling in some resources related to hunger and food insecurity. Since I am focusing on produce donation as one small effort among the many, I’ll now bring us back to the home gardener.
There is a program called “Plant a Row” that was started in Alaska by Jeff Lowenfels, then president of the Garden Writers Association (now called GardenComm). In describing the program’s history, GardenComm states that “over 20 million pounds of produce providing over 80 million meals have been donated by American gardeners” since 1995.
One sentiment I found particularly helpful and encouraging comes from the Ample Harvest FAQs:
“Your bounty, large or small, will help to diminish hunger in America.”
So, a small bag of peaches or a few extra zucchini are worth donating! Even if a gardener cannot add an additional row of plants, even those smaller bounties can add up. As evidenced by the success of Plant A Row, the actions of home gardeners add up.
As I continue to contemplate how I can best contribute, I have a few goals in mind.
First, I need to determine the best types of crops to plant for the purpose of produce donation. I am seeking feedback from local food pantries, but in the meantime, I am thinking about beans, squash, and various greens. These are crops that are reliable, can produce high yields, and are relatively easy to pack up and bring to a food pantry. Tomatoes may be another good crop, but they are more easily bruised or damaged. Radishes grow quickly and could be donated earlier in the growing season. I would also like to donate small potted herb plants, but I need to invest in an indoor grow light or system to accomplish this task…
Second, I would like to create additional garden space so I can increase production. There is a space on our property that gets a good amount of sun and is separate from the main yard. I really want to re-purpose this area as garden space. I plan to add a couple raised beds here, and perhaps a large trellis type structure for vertical growing (most likely beans, but perhaps also a sturdy, vining squash like the amazing honey boat plant I grew last year – it climbed all over my cucumber trellis and tomato cages!).
Third, I want to continue to get the word out! This week I learned a lot about how much it takes to meet this goal… In starting this web site, I am trying to get more people interested and thinking about produce donation. At the urging of my little brother (who is finishing up his MBA this semester), I started an Instagram account... It is linked on my garden photos page and here. Having never used it before, I didn't realize what a valuable tool it is - I immediately realized how important it is for networking, publicizing, and marketing. Even for a small goal such as mine, I need to “build my brand” through Instagram, this site, and other tools in the future.
So, I have a lot more to learn and do. But it’s been pretty fascinating just getting this program started and seeing how far it’s come in just the first two weeks!
Next week I will:
- Continue to understand produce donation and what/where to donate (to include connecting with a local food pantry that accepts produce donation)
- Continue to build the site and social media outreach
- Post about gardening with children and getting them involved with produce donation
- Share plans for the garden and increased growing space
- Potentially start planting - or at least planning for - some herbs for donation...
Thank you for reading and sharing this journey with me.