Fast Day raises hunger awareness
Religious and secular leaders are joining together to fast on the 21st day of each month to raise awareness of hunger in our midst. They include Sojourners, Alliance to End Hunger, The Episcopal Church USA and Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, with individuals invited to make the fast their own.
The 21st was chosen because that is the day when 90 percent of monthly Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits typically run out.
Feeding Santa Fe, the allvolunteer drive-thru food program that distributes up to 900 bags of groceries each week — no questions asked, no forms to fill out — learned from its recent impact study among recipients, with 55 percent receiving these benefits, that they do not begin to feed a family for a month. Sixty-one percent of those served are families with children, but an increasing number of seniors, including veterans, come to us for help. Those who work are typically low-wage earners — 35 percent of those surveyed earn less than $14,000 a year, and from the total of 455 individuals who participated in the survey, 66 percent earn less than $24,000 annually.
Poverty is at the root of hunger, and until that longrange problem is addressed, Feeding Santa Fe is giving much-needed food to the hungry in Santa Fe. (The full study can be viewed at www.feed ingsantafe.org.) What better time to start a fasting initiative than September, which is designated by Feeding America Inc. as Hunger Action Month?
The idea is to get people thinking about what it feels like to be hungry when there is little or nothing in the cupboard or refrigerator. The limited financial resources of these low-income, elderly or disabled recipients must be divided among rent, medical and utility bills, etc., with groceries often low on the list for buying nutritious foods or any food at all, as reported by single moms who will feed their children before or instead of themselves. Children find it difficult to focus in school and reach their learning potential. Children and adults who do not have adequate nutrition and rely on cheap, “junk” foods are prone to have health problems early or later in life — obesity and diabetes being foremost among them.
Feeding Santa Fe is committed to including the most nutritious items that can be procured. Our collaboration with the nutrition educators at the New Mexico State University Cooperative Santa Fe County Extension Service has resulted in our ability to include information about safe food handling and recipes for healthy preparation. We are focused on providing as much fresh produce as possible — and each bag contains a dozen eggs — for nutrition and flexibility in meal planning.
Children receive a healthy snack — two half-pints of milk and either an applesauce cup or a box of raisins or cheese stick. We do not offer sugar, fat- or preservative-laden food items as our mission is to dispense healthy foods.
Several times a year we engage in the Peanut Butter Caper, whereby individuals and faith and community groups gather 15-ounce jars of peanut butter for the nutrition and enjoyment they provide. It’s one of our efforts to encourage members of our community to become more aware of hunger in our midst and help by contributing one or more jars. Join us for the monthly fast or with our early morning efforts. Contact us at feedingsantafe@gmail.com or call 505-603-6600 for information.
Susan Odiseos is a Santa Fe resident and president of Feeding Santa Fe Inc., the all-volunteer, drive-thru food pantry organization, serving families and individuals in Santa Fe since 1979.