A New Type of National Security Concern

For most of us Thanksgiving is a holiday that is as much focused on eating as it is giving thanks. Because it isn't a religious holiday there's no devotional books or pagents to get ready for. Nor candy and costumes to buy, presents to wrap, or frankly parties to go to. It is really all centered on the big meal - what to serve, where to eat, who to invite to dinner. And boy do we eat! In many cases limiting our calories on the days leading up to it so that we can feel free to eat with abandon and no guilt.



But according to the USDA there are at least 17 million households in the US who are suffering from "food insecurity" who probably are thinking about Thanksgiving this year in a very different light. This number represents a 31% increase vs. just last year, caused by a combination of soaring food prices and global recession that has left many unemployed or underemployed. The recent survey suggests that almost 15% of U.S. households had trouble putting enough food on their table which means about 49 million people, including 17 million children, worried about getting enough to eat last year. Thanks goodness many were able to access federal nutrition programs, like food stamps, free-lunch programs in schools, and local food pantries. But at least one-third are estimated to have experienced real hunger - their insecurity about ability to get food was realized and they didn't get enough.



Amazing that in this country where we have so much, and in fact, are using more than our fair share of the entire world's resources, we still have so many people who don't know exactly where their next meal will come from, or even when it will come. They go to sleep at night not worrying about border control or foreign terrorists but rather asking, when will my neighbor care for me as they care for themselves?



What if we took food insecurity as serious as we take other forms of national security? What would that mean for the way we allocate our tax dollars and the standards to which we'd hold our local and national politicians? Donating to food pantries is certainly an important form of aid but its far from a solution to such a systemic problem. We have to continue to support, fund and as appropriate, expand the federal and state programs that provide food to those living in this country that need it.

So as we sit down to our Thanksgiving feasts this Thursday let us pause to give thanks that we live in a country that has such abundance that we can peacefully enjoy our annual food extravaganza with family and friends, and that while we have neighbors that are not always so fortunate we are thankful that we have the power to change that - through how we vote, how we contribute our money and how we volunteer our time. And then let's do it!