Serving the Hungry - Winter 2016 Newsletter
Bringing
Teens to
the Table:
A Focus on Food Insecurity in America
Across America, more than
13 million children are food
insecure, including 13,360
here in west central Indiana.
This means that many of our most
vulnerable citizens do not have
regular access to the healthy,
nutritious food that they need to learn
and thrive. The impact of hunger on
children is well-documented. There
is significant literature on this topic;
however, a majority of it focuses
on younger children. Less is known
about the teens facing hunger.
A new study released, “Bringing
Teens to the Table: A Focus on Food
Insecurity in America,” exposes the
plight of teenagers facing hunger.
The study was conducted by
Feeding America, a national network
of 200 food banks – of which Terre
Haute Catholic Charities Foodbank
is a member, and the Urban Institute.
It reveals the challenges faced and
coping strategies employed by some
teens struggling with hunger.
Among the key findings is the
fact that teen food insecurity is
widespread. Teenagers often have
to help their families figure out
how everyone in the household
has enough to eat. A teen who
participated in one focus group put it
this way, “If you don’t have enough
money to get the healthy stuff [that]
you need, you’re going to go to the
other side, to the junk food, and that
affects your health.”
The study also addresses how teens
facing hunger are forced to take
on adult responsibilities. Many are
tasked with determining how to make
food last longer for the whole family
and often sacrifice their own meals
in order to feed younger siblings. As
another teen states, “They’re higher
in the order [of who should get to
eat], so the older kids make sure
they give to the younger kids first.”
Finally, the study found that teens feel a deep sense of stigma
around the subject of hunger. They actively hide the fact that they
don’t have enough to eat. Many said they avoided accepting food
assistance delivered in public places, as some were bullied for
doing so. When her family received food aid, a teen told us, “I got
made fun of. It was terrible.”
These findings are heartbreaking. No teen should have to
experience such shame or hardship. Each year, the Terre Haute
Catholic Charities Foodbank serves approximately 13,000 youth
who face hunger. In addition to providing food through traditional
food pantries and soup kitchens, Terre Haute Catholic Charities
Foodbank provides BackPacks full of kid-friendly, nutritious food
to approximately 1,000 youth every Friday to provide the nutrition
needed for to get through the weekend. But, we recognize that
there is more work to do.
To read the full report, please visit www.feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america/our-research/teen-hunger-research. To get
involved, please check out our website www.ccthin.org.
A Word from the Agency Director
What can be done to improve the
plight of food-insecure teenagers?
“When I was a teenager I had a part-time job
working at the local grocery store. You really get
to see what people have to go through when
times are tough and they are trying to put food
on the table; they take more time making their
food choices,” says Sam, a successful small
business owner now living in southern California. “I remember one situation like it was yesterday. Someone in my high school class actually got
caught shoplifting some food, and the store owner
wanted to press charges until he heard this kid’s
story. The family was completely out of food
without any other resources or place to turn, and
this kid was hungry. It shouldn’t be a crime to be
hungry.”
Throughout this country, and more locally here
in west central Indiana, approximately a third of
those living with food insecurity are youth under
the age of 18. Clinical research will tell you that
during a child’s most formative and developmental
ages that proper nutrition is critical to how a child
learns and maintains an active lifestyle.
Meaghan, a young and vibrant 13-year-old
participates in several activities at Ryves Youth
Center. She has been coming to Ryves for almost
three years since the time her family moved into
the neighborhood. “I started coming here because
some of the kids in my school talked about how
much fun it was to be here, but now I come here
because I get to eat. We don’t always have food to
eat at home, and the food we get at school is only
for lunch. At night I get hungry, and they have food
here for me. I don’t like it when my stomach hurts
because I’m hungry.”
Besides having access to an evening meal, there
are more than 5,000 youth in our local community
that receive a weekend backpack to help them
meet their nutrition requirement when schools
and feeding sites are not open. Schools at the
elementary, middle and high school levels have each tried to help identify children at risk for food insecurity,
but it is still met with some resistance. For example, a child
must get a parent to sign a permission slip in order for the child
to receive a backpack or participate in the free and reduced
breakfast and lunch programs. While this may seem difficult to
understand, a sense of shame often overcomes those having
to ask for assistance.
Psychologically, most of us want to be independent and self-sufficient,
and asking for help takes away from our own self-image
of what it means to be successful. This is especially the
case when we have always been able to meet those needs
through our own efforts and working situation.
Youth-focused strategies to help reduce hunger as well as
prevent high-risk behavior have to include making nutrition
assistance programs more available to teens, offering after
school opportunities, youth job options and resources for
teens to find their own path toward empowerment. Community
solutions are the basis for including teens within the
framework of our neighborhoods and are a good start to
helping alleviate the root causes of hunger. We believe our
educators and community youth service providers should be
better trained to recognize the trauma experienced by teens
and to help provide or refer them to the counseling they need.
Over the long term, the only way to end teenage food
insecurity is to address its root cause—family poverty—by
increasing the value we all place on education, improving
access to jobs, providing better access to quality opportunities
within our neighborhoods and strengthening the safety net
when parents cannot earn enough to cover basic needs.
If we, as a community, want teens to grow into healthy,
productive adults, we must expand our efforts to reach them.
I urge you to join us in the fight to end teen hunger. You can
help by raising awareness about the issue of hunger in our
community. Together we can create a hunger-free America
for the next generation.
Sincerely,
John C. Etling
Agency Director
Hunger at Home
Larry, JB and Steve are regular teenage visitors
to Ryves Youth Center. They come for the
gym, the scout program and to hang out with
their friends over a meal. It's great that they
have a place to come. More importantly,
they are coming to a place where they
are welcomed, supported and sometimes
challenged to "reach higher."
Programmers of activities often say, “Offer
food and people will come.” Food service
providers often say, “Give me a program,
and I'll provide the food.” For these young
men, each one is strongly drawn to the
combination of three things at Ryves: food,
fellowship and fun.
Thankfully, food, fellowship and fun are
in abundance at Ryves, in an area where
those things are not always found. Teens
are hungry for food, of course, but they’re
also hungry for support and affirmation.
Thank God for the many helping hands that
work to fill empty stomachs and hearts.”
Need Help Finding Food?
If you need help finding food or know someone who does, call the National Hunger Hotline at 1-866-3-HUNGRY (1-866-348-6479). The Hunger Hotline is available Monday – Friday from 9am – 6pm. All calls are free and confidential. Help someone you know receive the nutrition they need to remain healthy and productive.
