World Food Day is celebrated every year around the world on October 16 in honor of the date of the founding of the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations in 1945. It raises awareness of the issues behind poverty and hunger. World Food Day has been a tradition in the United States since the first World Food Day in 1982. It is sponsored by 450 national and private voluntary organizations.
Food security is the measure of the availability of food and the ability to have access to it. Affordability is only one of many factors. Other factors include the nutritional value of the food, the diversity of basic foodstuffs and of course the ability to pay for the food to meet needs. In the years 2011-2013 an estimated 842 million people were suffering from chronic hunger. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations identified the four pillars of food security as availability, access, utilization and stability. The United Nations recognized the Right to Food in the Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 and has since said it is vital for the enjoyment of all other rights.
The United States Department of Agricultural defines food security as “limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods or limited or uncertain ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways.” The USDA defines food security as “access by all people at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life.”
Many of us may take our next meal for granted but there are also many in our midst who cannot. And many who can and do provide meals for their families may have to make a compromise in the nutritional quality of those meals, putting their heath and that of their family at risk
Locally, the Food Bank of the Hudson Valley is a member of Feeding America, an organization that sets the standards and acquires food donations from national companies. The mission of the Food Bank of the Hudson Valley is to alleviate hunger and prevent food waste. We work toward this mission by ensuring that all products available for donation reach the Food Bank and are distributed judiciously to our member agencies; by practicing responsible stewardship; and by actively participating in the community to increase awareness of hunger and poverty.
Visit foodbankofthehudsonvalley.org. to learn how you can help by donating money or food, volunteering or finding food. Volunteers perform a myriad of duties: helping out at the Cornwall-on-Hudson warehouse, which operates six days a week, sorting donated items. Additionally, volunteers are welcomed in the office to help with clerical tasks. When fundraisers occur, help organizing and executing the big event is dearly appreciated.
The Food Bank of the Hudson Valley can also assist if you are interested in organizing a food drive in your own community. They encourage you to seek donations of shelf-stable, not-expired food items only, such as protein dense foods like tuna, canned meat, peanut butter, and canned foods like stews, chili, ravioli and hearty soups. Cereal and Oatmeal are great donations as well. Their website offers tips on how to set up one. You can also call 534-5344 x112 for information on how to organize a food drive.
And while free and reduced breakfast and lunch provide significant nutritional benefits to students during the school day, many disadvantaged children do not have access to regular meals when school is not in session. The Backpack Program helps alleviate child hunger by providing children with backpacks full of nutritious and easy to prepare food on Friday afternoons so they can have food on weekends. In our area the food bank of the Hudson Valley serves more than 1,400 students and 47 schools in four counties. To donate to the Backpack Program visit regionalfoodbank.net.
Other ways to get involved in your local community are to volunteer at a soup kitchen and ask your local supermarket to donate food to the local pantry.
No one in America in 2019 should go to bed hungry.