How is the government involved in our food system?
The food system within the United States is extremely complicated. Much like an onion, our group has had to peel back a layer at a time. Our main objective is to find out how much the government is involved in this system and how it implements control. So far, we’ve discovered that a vast majority of food access points rely on the government in some way. Programs, grants, surpluses, and regulations are just a few methods in which the government maintains control over the food system.
Perhaps the animated video provided a little more insight into the complexities of our food system, which we all use in one way or another. In the video, Dick and Jane are normal American citizens, but might be in different economic classes. Jane survives without government aid and uses her money to shop at the grocery store, so consider her a middle-to-upper class citizen. On the other hand, Dick relies on the government and food pantries for enough food to feed his family. Consider him a lower-to-middle class citizen. The animation is a pretty condensed explanation of how the United States’ food system functions, but by taking various food access points into consideration, we can learn a lot about the cycle food goes through to eventually end up on our tables, and the role the government plays in this cycle.
Let’s start with the government programs Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). Both SNAP and WIC are widely used by low-income individuals and offer nutritional assistance to millions of low-income families. Those who use SNAP or WIC can redeem their allowances at grocery stores and food pantries.
One individual who uses SNAP is Alicia Frum. She applied for the program 13 years ago at the Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) in Morgantown, W. Va., and has relied on the help ever since. She is an Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) Cardholder, which is how she uses her SNAP benefits to purchase the majority of her food. As a mother, Frum is very thankful for the programs she accessed through Morgantown’s DHHR, and said her family wouldn’t survive without them. Frum also believes government assistance and food banks are a crucial part of communities.
“I appreciate the help that the DHHR does provide and all the food banks do,” said Frum. “Not just me if I ever need it, but to everyone. If it were a community we should all act like it. They should want to help us. They should try to help us as much as possible.”
In addition to government programs, food banks and pantries are a very essential part of the food system. Before we dive into that part of the system, however, it is first important to understand where the food is coming from. Food doesn’t just show up at food pantries, nor could it be sustained by local food drives. When looking further, all roads lead to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and its partnership with Feeding America.
Feeding America is at the top of the chain when it comes to food distribution. It is the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization, and relies heavily on donations from corporate grocers, corporate manufacturers, and government agencies, like the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Partners of Feeding America are placed in different levels, almost like a hierarchy of partnership. According to Feeding America’s 2015 annual report, a corporation can only become a top-tiered “Visionary Partner” if it donates $4 million, 40 million pounds of food and grocery products, or a combination of $2 million and 20 million pounds of food and grocery products.
In 2015, Feeding America had 14 Visionary Partners, including, Walmart, Kroger and Target. That’s almost $60 million in donations, and doesn’t include donations from other partners who didn’t donate quite enough to fall into the “visionary” category. All charitable donations to Feeding America qualify for tax deductions. This means the more money or products a corporation donates to Feeding America, the more money they receive from the government.
Operating under the supervision of Feeding America are 200 food banks and 60,000 food pantries and meal programs, which work together to feed 46 million food insecure Americans every year. One of these is the Mountaineer Food Bank, located in Gassaway, W.Va. The food bank provides food to 48 of the state’s 55 counties, and, as a member of Feeding America, receives massive donations from grocers. Just last year, Walmart donated more than 2 million meals to Mountaineer Food Bank alone. Without this partnership, it’s uncertain how the food bank would be able to sustain the many that rely on its assistance.
Donations to Mountaineer Food Bank are distributed to 600 feeding programs throughout the 48 counties; including, food pantries, mobile pantries, soup kitchens and backpack programs. Relating back to the animated video, let’s say the food pantry Dick visited receives products from Mountaineer Food Bank, which is a member of Feeding America. Remember, Dick receives aid from SNAP, a government program. However, the aid isn’t enough to feed his family so he also visits a local food pantry, which is in turn supported by a larger food bank.
About an hour’s drive away from the Mountaineer Food Bank is Scott’s Run Settlement House, a food pantry in Monongalia County, W. Va., where 16 percent of residents are considered food insecure, according to Feeding America’s “Map the Meal Gap” project. Deb Layman, the case manager at the facility, works closely with those who come to pantry often hungry and desperate. As a child, Layman had come to Scott’s Run when she was in need. Now, she has made it her mission to give back to those who helped her during a difficult time.
Most of Layman’s clients are SNAP and WIC recipients, but all too often she sees that those benefits never go a long enough way.
“I’ve seen a lot of moms that skip meals for their kids,” said Layman. “It’s an assistance program that isn’t meant to take place of an entire family’s needs…It’s a system with problems, but it’s a system.”
Clients at Scott’s Run are allowed to come once every 42 days, to which they are given one to two weeks’ worth of food, accounting only for one-sixth of total groceries needed to sustain oneself and one’s family. In some cases, families receive a low SNAP allowance because the government says they bring in too much income.
Becky Menear, who once received SNAP assistance, understands this all too well. Though her children have moved out of the house by now and she is responsible to support only herself, the government felt that Menear earned enough money that only $16 was an adequate allowance.
“They say I make too much money, but after I pay all my bills there’s not much money left to buy food for the house,” said Menear.
Layman said that she sees many of her clients in similar positions. While the government takes into account your income, it does not weigh the costs of medical expenses, car or mortgage payment and other expenses. As a result, many families are forced to seek out a hodge-podge of assistance, hopping from pantry to pantry.
The government’s involvement in the food system isn’t exclusive to West Virginia, but because of the state’s economic status, many areas are food deserts and are home to a large percentage of food insecure individuals. Of course, there are also individuals — like Jane from our animated video — who don’t rely on government programs or alternative food sources like the Mountaineer Food Bank or Scott’s Run Settlement House. Jane does, however, spend her money at corporate grocery stores, which donate millions of dollars every year to Feeding America.
It’s an extremely complex cycle that can’t be unraveled in one story, but by peeling back a layer at a time we plan to uncover the ulterior motives entrenched in this system. As we continue working our way through food-insecure communities and researching the United States’ food system, we’ll do so with one question in mind: How is the government benefiting from hunger, or is the government helping corporations profit from hunger?
