haleyslone--hunger--eca-2

Hunger and Food Insecurity 1

DEBUT PAPER

WHAT ROLE DOES COMMUNICATION PLAY

IN HUNGER AND FOOD INSECURITY?

December 16, 2014

Haley Slone High Point University

[email protected] 336-841-9000

Faculty supervisor Virginia McDermott, Ph.D. High Point University

[email protected] 336-841-9384

STATEMENT OF PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY In submitting the attached paper or proposal, I/We recognize that this submission is

considered a professional responsibility. If this submission is accepted and programmed, I/We agree to register for the 2015 ECA Convention, pay fees, and present in

Philadelphia. I/We understand that presenters with last minute emergencies must make arrangements as possible for an alternate presenter as well as communicate their absences to both the Interest Group Planner and ECA VP; no shows will be removed from the

official program. -

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]


WHAT ROLE DOES COMMUNICATION PLAY

IN HUNGER AND FOOD INSECURITY?

ABSTRACT

Greensboro-High Point, North Carolina metropolitan area is ranked second in the

nation for food hardship. There are many factors that bear on this condition, including:

transportation; nutrition; education; family income; government funding; and cultural

diversity. Further confounding these challenges is communication. When the

communication among stakeholders breaks down or is insufficient, services can be harder

to access and those most in need can be neglected. The purpose of this project is to

determine the overarching problem. I interviewed more than ten professionals who work

to address hunger and food insecurity in the Greensboro-High point area. They discussed

how they communicate with others and the methods that they think will help promote

awareness and resolution of this issue. This project presents the results of the interviews

and recommendations for future work on this issue.


WHAT ROLE DOES COMMUNICATION PLAY IN

HUNGER AND FOOD INSECURITY?

In its most recent analysis, the Food Research and Action Center reported that the

Greensboro-High Point, North Carolina metropolitan area is ranked second in the nation

for food hardship. There are seven food deserts lingering in High Point alone. Eighteen of

the city’s 25 schools qualify for federal funding for free meals. Senior citizens and even

working families are too often forced to choose between food and medicine, food and

clothing, or even food and educational supplies. Faith communities are battling hunger

pains within their close-knit communities. Farmers struggle to help, and yet face many

barriers themselves. There are many factors that bear on this condition, including:

transportation; nutrition; education; family income; government funding; and cultural

diversity. Further confounding these challenges is communication. When the

communication among stakeholders breaks down or is insufficient, services can be harder

to access and those most in need can be neglected. It is only through better coordinated,

multi-stakeholder engagement and mobilization that High Point can begin to turn the tide

on its most dubious distinction. It all starts and ends with communication.

What is Hunger?

Nearly one-sixth of the world’s population suffers from chronic hunger (Global

Hunger and Food Insecurity Initiative, 2012). Hunger has been defined by the Merriam-

Webster Dictionary as, “a craving or urgent need for food or a specific nutrient; an

uneasy sensation occasioned by the lack of food; a weakened condition brought about by

prolonged lack of food.” All people have experienced the feeling of hunger to some

extent; however, there is a deeper problem to be understood—food insecurity, which may


be chronic, seasonal or temporary, and it may occur at the household, regional, or

national level. It has been noted that, “this condition exists when people lack the

economic and physical means for ready and sustainable access to enough safe, nutritious,

and socially acceptable food for a healthy and productive life” (faqs.org). People are

unable to access food right here in America, the richest country on Earth, suggesting that

it is not simply a challenge of affordability alone. The United States Department of

Agriculture has defined food deserts as, “urban neighborhoods and rural towns without

access to fresh, healthy and affordable food. These areas encompass at least 100

households that either don’t have cars or live more than half a mile from a supermarket.”

Though there are passionate people and prosperous programs fighting hunger in

the United States, there is still a hunger problem, especially in High Point, NC. The

purpose of this project is to determine the overarching problem. It will examine how

people who work in this area communicate about the issue, communicate with others, and

methods that they think will help promote awareness and resolution of this issue. Further,

this project will address the problems of food scarcity in High Point, and how people are

managing that.

We are already aware of what hunger and food insecurity is, we are aware that

there is a problem, and realize that there are many people and programs working to

address this problem. However, food insecurity and hunger are not new problems; the

problem actually continues and arguably has worsened here in High Point. What role

does communication play? What are some new ways of thinking about the problem and

what are the stumbling blocks to making more meaningful progress? Qualitative

interviews were conducted with ten community members focused on combating hunger


in High Point. Their responses will be analyzed and alternative solutions, both long and

short term, will be recommended in the conclusion of this paper.

Hunger in The United States

Hunger is a regrettable and intractable part of our nation’s history. One of the

hardest periods regarding hunger was The Great Depression, when 15 million people

were without jobs causing a widespread rise in poverty and suffering. Even today, the

problem persists. Complex as the solutions may be, the problem of hunger literally comes

down to food. There are federal programs to address hunger for children and hunger for

old people. There are state programs and there are community programs intended to

address hunger. But people still suffer. Many of these programs admirably seek to feed

the hungry, and yet come up short in addressing many of the systemic problems that

make longer-term and more meaningful answers to hunger difficult to crack. According

to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Economic Research Service

(ERS), “an estimated 14.3 percent of American households were food insecure at least

some time during the year in 2013, meaning they lacked access to enough food for an

active, healthy life for all household members.” Currently, in the land of so much, there

are still so many people that have so little.

North Carolina ranks 4th worse in the nation for food insecurity (Second Harvest

Food Bank). The population in North Carolina has increased by 3,967,965 people since

1980 (ers.usda.gov). And yet there are 3,712 less farms since 2002 (ers.usda.gov).

Farmers are hindered by regulations in attempts to help ease hunger.

North Carolina is a state with a lot of diversity. According to the U.S. Office of

Refugee Resettlement, 14,000 refugees have resettled in North Carolina between 2001-


2010, coming from 25 different countries. According to a research paper titled “Refugee

Resettlement in North Carolina: Community-Based Challenges and Resources for

Integration” written by a UNC Chapel Hill Masters student: “NC refugees and the

agencies that serve them could benefit from a more deliberate dialogue related to

common challenges and how to best leverage the rich resources of this state.” Because of

this influx of refugees, the lingering effects of economic dislocation from the global

economy, and chronic unemployment are backsliding in efforts to address hunger. This

combination is made more challenging by the state’s significant socioeconomic diversity

including language, cultural and dispersion barriers to overcome.

Stated in a recent article in the High Point Enterprise, “a decade ago, North

Carolina's poverty rate was 26th among the 50 states. Now we're 11th and speeding past

our competitors, so we're gaining ground in poverty in an alarming way" (Nichol, G.

2014). "North Carolina has a very high food insecurity rate -- we do worse than almost

every other state when it comes to hunger," Nichol says. "So it's a North Carolina

problem, and it's one that's even more intense in some pockets of North Carolina, such as

High Point" (Nichol, G. 2014)

Hunger is clearly a problem, but it is an acute and growing problem in High Point,

North Carolina. High Point not only faces major cultural diversity, but also remarkable

economic disparity. Five of the 100 poorest neighborhoods in North Carolina are in High

Point (The N.C Budget and Tax Center as published in the High Point Enterprise). There

are seven food deserts here. Consequently, there are 40 food pantries in High Point to

address this issue. “Six food deserts are clustered, said Mark Smith, an epidemiologist

with the Guilford County Health Department. From the county line, the clustered deserts


run up W. English Road and E. Kivett Drive and up to S. Scientific Street. From there, it

runs straight back down the county line, creating a rough triangle” (HPE, Butzer,

Stephanie). High Point is an old mill town, and it is also referred to as “the furniture

capital of the world.” Farmers struggle to obtain farms close to the cities center. They

also struggle with regulations prohibiting them from opening up farm stands downtown.

Why is Hunger a Problem?

It is important to consider the reasons why the United States, the richest country

in the world -- financially, technologically, and with the most social capital -- continues

to face hunger pains. It is important to me in picking this topic because I have been living

in the second most food insecure cities in the nation, yet had no idea there was even a

problem here because I was gated and blinded by the glamour of the University. It is a

complex problem with many causes stemming from hunger and food scarcity. Recent

government data obtained in 2010 indicated, “the growing rate of food insecurity; of all

households in the United States, at least 16.1% (17.1 million households) were food

insecure at some point during the year (Map the MealGap, 2012)” (Voices of Hunger, pg.

10). There might be a food scarcity issue where people in that group are not hungry; and,

there might be people that are hungry when there is no food scarcity, but it is more a

sociological issue. Through the history of all countries, there have been people who have

gone without, and sometimes they have gone without food. Certainly, two major factors

have been socio-economical status and location.

1. There are community-wide information gaps that exacerbate hunger. Leading

stakeholder groups may not be able to achieve or represent the overall consensus of the

community, because they have not experienced each situation across the board.


“Acknowledging this intertwined relationship between absence from platforms of

policymaking and material disenfranchisement, culturally centered projects of social

change begin by building partnerships between academics and disenfranchised

communities. Community-driven in-depth interviews become avenues for listening to the

voices of the marginalized” (pg. 3, Voices of Hunger). Disenfranchised groups with

cultural differences encounter a lack of social mobility. There are many people that move

into our country and local community including refugees, immigrants who are on divided

cultural platforms.

2. The tenuous economic recovery, not even yet see in this state for most, means

that becoming food insecure could happen to anyone with unemployment or even

underemployment. For most, it is only one paycheck away from happening.

3. Unfortunately, there is a negative stigma attached to food insecurity because

people like to have a feeling of self-pride. “In the ‘‘Voices of Hunger’’ project in

Tippecanoe County, participants noted that stigma around food insecurity was the root

cause behind the absence of adequate resources for the food insecure. Stigma was also

the reason behind the limited uses of the food pantries among community members in

spite of their everyday experiences of hunger and limited access to resources” (Voices of

Hunger, page 11). Many do not participate in programs because they fear social

presentation. People don’t want to say it, but they are embarrassed to participate. Even

more disconcerting is that kids don’t pick up food backpacks from such programs

because they’re afraid of teasing or the emotional distress of stereotyping.

4. There has been a corporatization of the food industry. Current methods of food

production in the United States are largely in response to the growth of the fast food


industry since the 1950s. Large companies have control over farmers, aiming to produce

a large quantity of food faster than ever before. According to Robert Kenner, producer of

Food Inc., “we’ve skewed our food system to the bad calories, and it’s not an accident.

The reason why those calories are cheaper is because those are the calories we’re heavily

subsidizing.” The choice is imposed by price. Less of our paycheck goes towards food

than at any point of time in history, which is great, but the problem is there are many

other costs that go with it. It is cheaper to buy a hamburger than it is to buy a head of

broccoli (Food Inc.).

What has been done to address hunger?

In the United States, hunger is generally recognized as a prevalent problem. It is

also widely believed that hunger has been the subject of many well-intentioned programs

and initiatives to alleviate the problem. There are national efforts, state efforts, county

efforts, and local efforts to address the various dimensions of food insecurity.

In 1964, the Food Stamp Act was passed, providing food-purchasing assistance

for low and no-income people living in the United States. Since October 1, 2008, the

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the revised name for the federal

Food Stamp Program. The new name reflects a new focus on nutrition and an increase in

benefit amounts for program participants. SNAP is the federal name for the program, but

there are state programs as well that go by different names.

In addition to food stamps, there are many school lunch programs and backpack

programs ensuring children, a vulnerable subject population to food insecurity, a free

lunch in public education systems. School lunch programs are funded by either or a

combination of federal, state, county government, or local nonprofit or faith-based


organizations. For example, a program in High Point called Back Pack Beginnings has

been very successful as a donation-based program. Another example could be the

recently successful program in New York City that has been attacking these issues in a

more novel way. “A movement to restrict food stamps to healthy foods is well-meaning,

but it wouldn’t work in many areas where 7-Elevens are the main source of people’s

food,” said Mr. Nischan, a former chef focusing on nutrition and a leader of this project.

Participants who qualify for this program get tokens to spend on fruits and vegetables at

local farmers markets. Participating farmers benefit because they are fully reimbursed

with dollars from community-based nonprofits and grants and they sell more produce,

increasing their income on average nearly 37 percent. A doctor and nutritionist evaluate

participants on a monthly basis to keep up their healthy diet (New York Times,

Prescribing Vegetables, Not Pills).

Faith communities have been very effective in more urban areas battling hunger

pains. According to Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC, which distributes food

to pantries across 18 countries, including Guilford, “the faith-based community accounts

for about 75 percent of food pantries” (High Point Enterprise).

Purpose:

One might reasonably ask: Given that there have been numerous national, state

and local efforts to raise awareness around hunger and food insecurity, and even some

remarkable efforts to redress them, why then does hunger persist? One notable answer is

that the problem has lapped the resources and collective capacity to remediate it. A

critical factor in our shortcomings in dealing with this very stubborn problem is a


breakdown in communication in several respects. Public knowledge of available

programs and how to access them is lacking. Well-meaning policy-makers often don’t

share success stories and best practices with each other across geographies and even

within communities. Finally, community leaders have often not found the right

messaging for its members to reassure them that access to services is not demeaning thus

making them reluctant and victims of our own insufficient communications. While

additional resources are surely needed, we might well be able to penetrate the most

challenging communities within existing resources and begin to change the underlying

dynamics of hunger if we could devise better communications strategies and messaging.

Given the intractable nature of the problem then, it requires us to look at it with

fresh eyes and new tactics to deploy. Perhaps we must look at it through a different lens -

- instead of looking at it from an access perspective, or “who”, why don’t we look at it

from a “how” perspective. How do people talk about this, what are they saying about it,

who are they talking to, what messages do they think would work to begin to address this

in a more cohesive and systematic manner.

A focal point of this project is to examine how the leaders of one community, that

has high rates of hunger and food insecurity, talks about the issue -- to each other and to

those most in need. There are many noble citizens and programs fighting hunger, but that

it continues as a long-term issue suggests there must be some break down in

communications that must also be addressed. This project examines the issues in High

Point, but I hope will also provide useful insights for the battle against hunger far and

wide. The next sections will investigate this and new strategies that could move the dial

in new and perhaps more meaningful ways.


Message From The Researcher:

I have lived in High Point for three and a half years as a student at the University.

Since day one, I have been eager to learn about what is happening outside of the

University gates, rather than just what is being offered within. My first understanding of

the food insecurity issues in our community came through conversations with one of my

Nonprofit professors after class, Matthew Farabow. Since then, I have been interested in

furthering my knowledge on this problem in the community outside the gates. This

semester, I volunteered as the Executive Chef for a program called “Cooking Matters,”

where families in the High Point community would come to learn how to use kitchen

tools, prepare healthy meals and grocery shop for nutritious produce on a budget. I

learned about this program from Melissa Tiling, a volunteer from the FoodCorps here in

town that I met at a showing of the movie A Place at The Table. In addition, I was

enrolled in a Research Methods class with Dr. Virginia McDermott who required fifteen

research assistant service hours as part of the curriculum. Immediately, I knew which

topic I was going to be researching, the food deserts in High Point. I contacted Matthew

Farabow who referred me to Carl Vierling as a good source of information about the food

deserts. I was lucky enough to complete my research assistant hours in collaboration with

Carl Vierling, the Pastor of West End Ministries and coordinator of the Community

Resource Network at Open Door Ministries in High Point.

Methods:

With the information gathered through these experiences, I found that it would be

most effective to use a qualitative research method to prove my thesis. I met with my

professor, Dr. McDermott, to discuss the next steps of my project. She put me in contact


with a friend of hers, Marianne LeGreco, a friend of hers from the Food Council in a

neighboring town. Dr. LeGreco recommended questions to ask my future respondents.

She highlighted communication as the root of the problem. I formulated a survey to

gather information from a variety of sources including leaders tied to food insecurity

from High Point University, local organizations and programs, community engagers,

faith-based communities, research collectors, the transportation department, the public

health department, and the agricultural department charged with managing issues

impacting farmers. I found it important to survey a variety of people for the purposes of

this research in order to compare patterns from several different arenas. Melissa Tiling

and Carl Veirling suggested people whom they knew in the community that could be

useful sources of information. I contacted these people via e-mail, and some by phone

call.

My research pool included the following people: Joe Blosser, the Director of the

Service Learning Program at High Point University; Anna Mahathey,

AmeriCorps/VISTA at High Point University; Pastor Keith Edwards of Ward Street

Mission Methodist Church; Nick Covington, with Research Services in the High Point

Public Library and uptown farmers market manager; Janet Mayer, Guilford County

Department of Public Health; Carl Vierling; Parker White, founder of the Backpack

Beginnings program in High Point; John Ivey, Guilford County Center, responsible for

field crops (field and greenhouse), local foods coordinator, fruit and vegetable

production, pesticide coordinator, and pond management; Darrel Moore, with the

Master's Nonprofit Management Programs at High Point University; Angela Wynes,


Interim Transit Manager for the City of High Point Transportation Department; and

Marianne LeGreco, Community Nutritionist at the Guilford County Health Department.

I distributed the survey verbally in order to establish a trusting rapport between

the respondent and myself, and to encourage a conversational and forthcoming exchange.

Questions in the survey varied depending on the respondent’s background or

responsibilities. Further, I based my survey questions on the knowledge and insights that

I have accumulated from my experiences beyond the gates of the University. Interviews

took place in the offices of the respondents, with only two by necessity conducted over

the phone. Each survey was recorded on the “Voice Memos” application on my iPhone in

their entirety, lasting anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour and 45 minutes. Phone calls

could not be recorded; however, I transcribed them during the call. Each recording was

transcribed for the purpose of reviewing the respondents’ opinions with care, clarifying

specific statements, and pulling direct quotes for inclusion in this analysis. I typed up all

of my transcriptions on a school computer.

I asked a variety of questions about the respondents’ perceptions about the

programs, how each person learned about programs and provided information about the

services. These are a few of the questions:

1. How do people find out about these services/programs?

2. What are some effective ways you have found to attract people to

events/services/programs… or to deliver your overall message?

3. What are some barriers that keep people from participating?

4. What messages do you think would work to approach legislators with?

5. How much time do you spend networking?


6. If there were a Food Summit to bring people in the High Point community

together, would you attend?

After transcribing all of the respondents’ surveys, I analyzed the data by

comparing patterns that I observed. People responded differently to many questions, but I

was nonetheless able to glean patterns from the conversations. For example, there were

multiple respondents who mentioned the following matters in their survey: lack of

education; exercising word-of-mouth communication; parties desirability for

convenience; believing that their project is more important than the rest; unjust

government laws; never-ending networking; the City is stuck in the past; and people are

prideful. There were also patterns in requests for: organizations and groups to improve

their communication skills; the implementation of coops; make High Point a USDA

Promise Zone; implement a food council and the creation of an incentive program for

good health and nutrition. Finally, I saw one overarching pattern – the lack of

communication. This showed up in a variety of ways during my inquiry -- no central

place to go and the need is so great, that people are doing all they can to address the

problem that is in front of them and they don’t have time to coordinate to address larger,

more systemic contributing forces in a coordinated fashion. Many good people have their

eye on the ball in feeding the hungry today, but don’t have the time, the vision or a

coordinating vehicle to rein the problem in for the future.

Results

As my research progressed, I began to find similarities between respondents

feedback. Several patterns deemed more important than others as common trends came to

surface. After recording interview sessions I transcribed the entire track and printed out


the interview play-by-play of each respondent. I highlighted fruitful words and bold

statements. I cut all of the interviews into small strips of paper and created piles of

similar quotes. I found many patterns corresponding to my questions regarding these

categories: convenience, education, networking, communications, partnerships, socio-

economic barriers and action orientation. Here are the patterns that I found most

important in my analysis:

Convenience

The first theme was convenience. The respondents indicated that even when food

and other resources are available, community members often can’t access them. This

demonstrated a lack of communication with the recipients because if you don’t know the

challenges the community faces in transportation, then you might develop processes that

don’t help the community in all the ways it should. When people working in the food

security fields don’t talk to the people who need better access, they won’t realize that

some of the barriers are educational. These two quotes exemplify that:

“We tend to do distribution based on the convenience of the distributer, Not on

the needs of the community. For example, churches have food pantries at their churches, which is convenient for that church. But, when the churches are located in parts of town where poor people don’t live, and we have public transit that is

wholly insufficient, that stops service at 6:30 p.m., that’s not very helpful.” –Joe Blosser

“I don’t think many of them (farmers) mind donating, but if they have to drive it

there that becomes an added cost to them. I think most of our farmers would be happy to donate some day old produce if they didn’t have to leave the farm and if

they knew someone would come get it.” –John Ivey

Education


Hunger is complicated because the solutions—better nutritional choices, working

in community gardens, managing money—assume an understanding of nutrition,

gardening, and finances. However, many people, especially people who haven’t spent a

lot of time in school, don’t have the education to understand these issues and address

them. This was explained in these quotes:

“A lot of people don’t necessarily understand the implications and ramifications of not having a well balanced diet, especially for parents who are purchasing food

for the household, the children because of their developmental stages that they’re going through they need a balanced meal, with all your veggies and all of those

vitamins and nutrients. And that also helps deal with things like obesity and that sort of thing.” –Darryl Moore

“One of the big problems is that everyone says they want a community garden... It comes the day to start planting and you see everyone out there because there’s

equipment, hammers, dirt and plants so everyone comes out. But then you don’t see everyone them again until harvest time, and everyone comes back. That means they don’t really understand what a community garden is, so they need a

little more education on it, but there are limited resources.” –John Ivey

“Some of it is a cycle; their parents; they grew up poor and that’s all they know; they don’t see past; and part of the other problem is that people get 100$ and they

don’t know how to spend it; they go out and buy $80 tennis shoes for their kids; well what about the other stuff? Yeah, a lot of it is mismanagement, but a lot of it

is educational; it’s not that they’re trying to abuse the money; they’re just trying to please their kids and they just don’t have it to do so; and it’s hard to tell a kid no sometimes.” –Pastor Keith

Lack of social cohesion

Working together can expedite processes because people don’t duplicate each

others’ work or continue to tap and tax the same resources. However, when there aren’t

social connections between people, they can’t communicate about the issues. Almost

every interviewee mentioned the lack of social cohesion, but these quotes provide

especially important insight:


“I think one of the other big issues, is in our community there’s a lot of people working towards the same goal, but not knowing what’s happening, so

communication breakdown. We’re starting a food policy council, and I think that’s going to bring people together, but I think it’s a lack of one united voice.

Food policy council will be for Guilford country, so its open to anybody who wants to participate, we’re in the stage now of trying to get applications, and also raise community awareness as far as what’s going on” –John Ivey

The farmers voice may not be represented at the food summit: “One of the biggest

points of contingence that I’ve had is that there’s no producer sitting at the table; so, there’s no farmers there; and I’m the only voice for these farmers; I think they’re one of the most integral parts because if they don’t want to participate in

food policy regulations, or reformation, or if they don’t want to give their leftovers to the needy then this is all no point” –John Ivey

“To get the real story, it requires actually getting to know the executive directors

and the program directors of the nonprofits, and being able to talk to them more informally…So, that we get through either faculty that have personal relationships

with the partners that we’re working with, which is one thing that we really encourage, is for faculty to work with organizations where they know people, where they're passionate about what the organization does, so they volunteer there

on their own, where they just have good relationships, and then the communication process becomes more honest and helpful” –Joe Blosser

“The biggest need is for us to be unified; to get past our own individual silos; to breakdown the walls that separate all of these nonprofits; they’re so territorial;

they’ve forgotten their very existence. I’ll ask these guys, “so, what’s your mission? What’s your mission? … Everything that we do should line up with our

mission. If you want to see a corporation that fails, they went outside of their mission; they get outside their competences.” –Carl Vierling

Discussion

Food insecurity and hunger are not new problems, and the problem continues and

arguably has worsened here in High Point. What role does communication play? What

are some new ways of thinking about the problem and what are the stumbling blocks to

making more meaningful progress? There were common points of view that emerged

from my extensive interviews.


Inadequate transportation and distribution logistics is a major barrier. Whether

it’s larger producers that prefer to take all of their excess produce to a single location at

one time, or it’s a family farmer who cannot afford the transportation cost of delivering to

urban locations and would prefer an intermediate distribution point, or simply the

challenges posed by an inadequate public transit system for the family in need – there is a

common sequence around convenience. From the perspective of the persons in need, it’s

as simple as how to get to where the food or other assistance is.

Often we found that there is inadequate education provided about good nutritional

habits, spending habits, gardening and breaking the cycle. For those eager to help, there

are stereotypes that need to be broken. The need to get to know, build trust, and enter into

collaboration with other organizations is a recurring theme. Many emphasized the

importance of networking and personal relationships in problem solving. There is an

evident need to leverage social media, local radio and television outlets, and the

communications vehicles available through many organizations to amplify the message

around the need and what can be done

In some cases, government solutions seemed disconnected from the front lines of

the faith communities. The divide between the haves and the have-nots in High Point is

very pronounced. Other cultural, language and perception issues create or compound

access barriers. Breaking down historical mindsets and perceptions was viewed by many

as an important starting point for building the trust that allows people in need to feel

comfortable coming forward for assistance, and for those in a position to help a way to

see past their own biases or pre-conceived notions of the homeless or food insecure poor.


All had their stories about non-responsive government policy or programs, or

would recount the many reasons why a new outreach initiative came up short, or

deflected blame on others. But without exception, the activists and organizational leaders

I spoke with all had a sense of shared purpose and resolve to do something about the

problems. There was much frustration and finger pointing to be sure, but at their core, all

respondents were caring people eager to take action.

The needs are so great that people are doing all they can to address the problem

that’s in front of them, but are lacking time to coordinate with the larger systematic

efforts to chip away at many of the key drivers we have discussed here with an eye to

ending hunger. Plenty of determined efforts exist and many people work very hard.

However, we cannot ignore the importance of communication. Coordination of

communication efforts is an important step in addressing this issue that is so pervasive in

our City, in our county, in our state, and in our nation. People in hunger are all too often

stigmatized, but the more we talk about it, the more we reduce the stigma and enhance

access to services and changed behaviors and outcomes. We recognize that food

insecurity is a major health issue, which means that it is a community issue. We need to

communicate about this issue openly and among all stakeholders. The goal of open

communication is to understand why hunger continues to exist, and then how to leverage

best practices and advocate for changes that can truly make a difference.

Efforts exist, and people work very hard, but we cannot ignore the imperative of

strategic communication and aligned messaging. Social cohesion is an important rallying

post for impoverished and wealthy communities alike. Establishing and building positive

and trusting relationships with neighbors is particularly important in preventing or


reducing problems related to poverty such as food insecurity. Such social cohesion in a

community yields important resources that can be used in exchange for goods and

services. According to a longitudinal study, Neighborhood Social Cohesion and Food

Insecurity, “Parameter estimates from the final model suggest that the magnitude of

social cohesion, as well as the magnitude of improved social cohesion over time, is

predictive of food insecurity for low-income families living in low-income

neighborhoods.” Thus, a unified community through the process of communication leads

to an empowered community.

Limitations

The problem with my data collection was that I did not give a voice to anyone

who is hungry. I interviewed important stakeholders in the High Point community and

from the University community, but I do not have a respective sample of those who are

chronically hungry. There are many different pockets of hungry people throughout our

community; the two biggest faces of hunger being the elderly and children. The voices of

leaders have been prominent all along. These voices have not yet made a difference.

Change may only occur when those voices of hunger are noticed, instead of noticing

those voices representing those who are hungry. Unfortunately, I did not have enough

time over the semester to reach out to these two groups. I was only limited to those

sources in which I had direct contact with.

Future Directions

Future researchers should assess the upcoming food summit that will take place

early next year. Efforts are being made to get everyone engaged in the summit. Good

brainstorming can create new methods to solve the current problems. As addressed


previously, we continue to talk about the problems but nothing will ever change unless

we all come together. This summit will determine if coming together will actually take

us a step forward, or if it will make us take a step back. It will be interesting to discover

what future research concludes about hunger in our community a year from now. Future

research will examine the success of the food summits effects hunger in our community,

and into what small task forces the summit determined to solve the smaller issues. A big

question is what will help farmers as they are being pushed further and further from city.

What is a solution? Considering no farmers will be voiced at the food summit. If the

summit is a failure after all, future research should finally examine those voices unheard:

the voices of hunger, and the voices of those growing the food to feed the hungry, the

farmers.

Conclusion:

There is an extraordinary opportunity at hand to change the trajectory of this

problem. For too long, well meaning people and organizations have talked and acted,

usually among themselves or in silos, and the problem persists. Early next year a major

summit is planned for our community. Invited are major stakeholder groups and

expectations are high. And yet little will come of it unless it is focused on breaking down

old mindsets and communication barriers. Among the outcomes that could truly lead to

meaningful long-term progress are the following:

1. Ensure that all stakeholders are given equal standing to participate and have

their voices heard, including those most impacted in our community; 2. Tackle discrete elements of the problem through the use break-out sessions,

each of which are facilitated and tasked with making concrete and achievable recommendations. These reports should be consensus-driven, identify strategies and

tactics to tackle very specific problems, and balance problems shared with opportunities to address them;


3. Identify missing issues and constituencies, and then create ongoing work

streams with accountability for reporting back at follow-on summit in six months and periodically afterwards to ensure that new issues have a forum for resolution and

there is mutual accountability for real problem solving; 4. Craft a consensus Call to Action that would in turn be disseminated into the

community and inspire more people to get involved. This could be high- level principles or objectives that would serves as the rallying point for ongoing and

focused work; 5. Engage the local media and community leaders, including High Point

University and the business community, in bringing awareness to the issues and taking some ownership of the new problem solving mindset. From local parishes or

corporate board meetings to radio call in shows, there needs to be a new level of understanding of the magnitude and stubbornness of the problem and resolve to do something about it.

There is no ultimate solution to end hunger. However, the community as a whole

can do something more than throw money at the problem, for the problem is more than

money. We have an opportunity near-term for a candid, meaningful springboard to tackle

the problem. A one-day summit alone will not solve hunger but it will start an internal

dialog with stakeholders. The key is to build trust between different partnerships and

tackle the problem in ways that do not require money or major legislation.


References

American Community Gardening Association:

https://communitygarden.org

Brody, J. (2014, December 2). Prescribing Vegetables, Not Pills. The New York

Times, p. D7.

Brisson, D. (2012). Neighborhood Social Cohesion and Food Insecurity: A

Longitudinal Study. Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research, Vol. 3,

No. 4, pp. 268-279. DOI 10.5243/jsswr.2012.16

Butzer, S. (2014). There are seven ‘food deserts’ in High Point. Can farmers help?

High Point Enterprise, pp. 1-4. Retrieved from:

http://www.hpe.com/news/x456534047/There-are-seven-food-deserts- in-High-

Point-Can-farmers-help

Bureau of Public Affairs. (2009). Global Hunger and Food Security Initiative:

Consultation Document. U.S. Department of State. Retrieved From:

http://www.state.gov/s/globalfoodsecurity/129952.htm

Dutta, M.J., Anaela, A., & Jones, C. (2013). Voices of Hunger: Addressing Health

Disparities Through the Culture-Centered Approach. Journal of Communication,

Vol. 63 (1), pp. 159-180. Retrieved from:

DOI: 10.1111/jcom.12009

General Information From:

http://www.feedingamerica.org/hunger- in-america/our-research/map-the-meal-

gap/


General Information From:

http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program-snap

Hardin, G. (2014). The Tragedy of the Commons. World Hunger Journal Article.

Retrieved from:

http://journal-efinance.rhcloud.com/world-hunger-journal-article/

Hunger. 2014. In Merriam-Webster.com.

Retrieved Dec. 3, 2014, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hunger

Information Gathered from:

http://www.faqs.org/nutrition/Erg-Foo/Food-Insecurity.html

Kimbrough, P. (2014). Forum spotlights religious diversity. High Point Enterprise,

pp. 1-4. Retrieved from:

http://www.hpe.com/news/x761891930/Forum-spotlights-religious-diversity

(2014, May 13). Lenoir-Rhyne students use meal plan for homeless. The Times-

News. Retrieved from:

http://www.thetimesnews.com/news/region-state/lenoir-rhyne-students-use-meal-

plan-for-homeless-1.319678

Nichol, G. (2014). How does High Point resolve its hunger crisis? High Point

Enterprise. Retrieved from:

http://cqrcengage.com/networklobby/app/document/5354796

Tomlin, J. (2014). Hunger in High Point ranked second in the nation. High Point

Enterprise, pp. 1-5. Retrieved from:


http://www.hpe.com/news/x1918013409/Hunger- in-High-Point-ranked-second-

in-the-nation

United States Department of Agriculture: Economic Research Service:

ers.usda.gov

haleyslone--hunger--eca-2

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