Community Food, Security and Hunger

The right to food is recognized in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights as part of the right to an adequate standard of living, and is enshrined in the 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The United States is one of the few countries in the world not to formally recognize this right in law. In West Virginia, and across the Appalachian region the right to access sufficient food for  a healthy lifestyle is regularly violated. Rates of food insecurity hover around an average of 14% in the 420 Appalachian counties compared to a national average of 12%. 

Food insecurity means that at certain times throughout the year, depending on severity, the food intake of members in a household is reduced, and their normal eating patterns are disrupted because the household lacks money and other resources for food. Food insecurity leads to hunger, the uneasy or painful sensation caused by a lack of food, a condition that can lead to health problems, difficulties concentrating at work or school and depression. 

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly heightened levels of food insecurity in communities across Appalachia. As income was lost from unemployment and the closure of key public nutrition assistance hubs like schools and senior centers, food insecurity rates increased significantly in 2020, more than tripling for households with children. 

Local organizations and public policy advocates have long worked to address this problem by bringing together a wide range of stakeholders to respond to food access problems and build more resilient food systems. Food charities have become a key food sourcing strategy for many people across the region, and while these organizations respond primarily to emergency needs, many are beginning to use their institutional positions to shape food policies and build a more resilient food system that guarantees the right to food for all. 

What can we do?

Community Food Security is a condition in which all community residents obtain a safe, culturally appropriate, nutritionally sound diet through an economically and environmentally sustainable food system that promotes community self-reliance and social justice. At a basic level, Community Food Security is about making healthy food accessible to all. It focuses on bringing fresh, local food into low-income communities, thereby reducing hunger, and improving individual health. But, as the definition above suggests, it’s about much more than that.

• making nutritious and culturally appropriate food accessible, not just any food

• supporting local, regional, family-scale, and sustainable food production

• building and revitalizing local communities and economies

• providing fair wages and decent working conditions for farmers and food system workers

• promoting social justice and more equitable access to resources

• empowering diverse people to work together to create positive changes in the food system and their communities.