It's still all but impossible for me to believe that three years ago our state led all others in the number of poorly nourished children and citizens. And that the relatively affluent Benton and Washington counties, along with Pulaski County, had the highest number of nutrition-deprived people of all 75 counties.
I wouldn't have expected that. Yet the numbers are documented by those who keep such statistics. And the problem had become severe enough to prompt people such as Denise Garner to band with equally concerned Fayetteville citizens to work toward changing this disgraceful condition.
They began by gathering information and calling for organizational meetings. The result of their purely voluntary efforts became a seed that quickly sprouted into the Feed Fayetteville organization.
This food-insecure condition continues to grow, although, in a nation awash in issue and scandals, it's remained largely in the shadow of public awareness. "Like trying to turn around the Titanic," observed Jane Gearhart, one active volunteer in the struggle to overcome public hunger and need.
Feeding America's 2010 report, Hunger in America, found 37 million people, including 14 million children, were hungry. That translates to about one in every eight Americans. The number of hungry children in our nation alone rose by 50 percent between 2006 and 2010.
The results of the 2014 hunger study should be released tomorrow morning.
Not to bore you with lots of tedious numbers, but the 2011 study showed Pulaski County led the way with 78,100 affected residents. Washington County was second with 34,740, followed by Benton County at 31,160. Phillips County had the highest estimated percentage of population in hunger with just over 29 percent.
I've been ignorant of how big a deal this hunger problem has become in Arkansas because I harbored the vision of a stereotypical hungry person in my head. You know, ragged, thin and looking down for the count. We all see some, but not many living in such obviously dire conditions. The reality is the malnourished and undernourished often look just like you and me, including children, a third of whom ironically are now classified in our own state as obese because they've been regularly consuming thousands of empty calories daily from fats and sugar.
Garner told me she recognizes the faces of hunger in a far wider population that includes the elderly, veterans, college students and single mothers and their children, along with so many others you and I wouldn't ordinarily expect.
"All we are trying to do now is establish the networks in every community to make certain everyone has access to healthy foods in a socially just manner so people can be empowered and knowledgeable to feed themselves and their children in healthy ways," said Garner, who is a retired registered nurse practitioner. "Our projects are community-based and not based on handouts as much as education about food-supply programs that are going unused and what foods bodies need to be healthy."
Her group also is promoting free courses in gardening and healthy cooking as well as canning and food preparation to be able to preserve healthier fresh foods.
"If we can help teach people to eat just a little bit better, it can make such a positive difference in their lives, especially over time," said Garner.
That concept of teaching dovetails with programs that utilize the abundant produce raised and donated by area farmers and regularly distributed to various programs across Northwest Arkansas. In 2013, the first year of that undertaking, local farmers contributed 18,000 pounds of produce, Garner said.
Fayetteville has shown itself (since well before the days of civil rights) as a community known for understanding and freely giving to those in need. I can't help but believe the university perched above the downtown square is responsible for much of the empathy ingrained in the city. Whatever the reason, it's a fact that the hungry in Fayetteville can now find a hot meal for no charge every day of the week at different locations ranging from the Episcopal and Methodist churches to Seven Hills Homeless Center and the Salvation Army.
There also are multiple food pantries in Northwest Arkansas that provide supplies of take-home healthier foodstuffs, including a very active pantry at the University of Arkansas.
These places are funded by private and corporate donations, along with grants. As Garner explains, there are programs available to provide food for the hungry that so many people still don't know about. "That's one of our purposes, to raise awareness about federal funds available to families in need and schools and other organizations trying to meet those needs."
I'll continue to write about this largely camouflaged condition in our own backyard as fresh information about the width and breadth of hunger's reach is revealed. This is one of those matters that deserves our attention since it's a known fact we all must eat--and I'm not talking about potato chips, soft drinks, candy bars, doughnuts and Twinkies.
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Mike Masterson's column appears regularly in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Email him at [email protected]. Read his blog at mikemastersonsmessenger.com.
Editorial on 08/17/2014