The pandemic has waned, but food insecurity and many other needs remain

In a Community Voices piece last year, I explained why hunger relief organizations like ours were seeing long lines for food help at a time when many hoped we had moved past the lingering impacts of the pandemic. While we’re further removed and many are faring better, grocery prices are up 25% since 2020 and we’re serving 4,800 households each week across our free food programs, an increase of 14% over last year. 

Just as many of the ‘whys’ remain from my letter last year, the ‘what we can do’ — be there for each other — is as pressing an opportunity as ever. New, big problems surround us, endless distractions pull our attention from the basic needs of our neighbors, and the environment of divisiveness makes working together to solve problems feel impossible.

Yet poll after poll reminds us of our shared fundamental values and suggests the want — really, the need — for us to come together. Because whichever way our local, state and federal elections go, the job on Nov. 6 is tackling the problems we’ve been hearing about — many of us living through — for too long. Now’s our chance to cool the rancor, find common ground, and focus on solutions. 

Fortunately, we see this coming together in our work every day. At Open Cupboard, our hunger relief model centers people, community and the environment. If not for creativity and collaboration with all who have a stake in our work, we wouldn’t be the most-visited food shelf in Minnesota. That coming together of diverse perspectives, ideas, abilities and resources is what informs our responsiveness, drives our innovation, and serves our community. 

Take last month at our Today’s Harvest free fresh market in Oakdale, when we welcomed a bipartisan group of elected officials, peer nonprofit service organizations, a few corporate partners and a slice of our dedicated volunteer team to celebrate a milestone in our home delivery program.

Or, a new partnership with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency that will allow us to train other community organizations in food rescue and redistribution. Or the 24 retailer partners, who make available more than 200,000 pounds of food to our shoppers each month. Or relationships with The Good Acre food hub and the Minnesota Department of Agriculture that create economic pathways for local farmers. And, of course, the many donors and volunteers who are making our brand new Maplewood Today’s Harvest market possible.

I know that particularly now it can feel overwhelming to be asked to be there for someone else, for each other. But I also know that there are so many ways you can do that. In hunger relief, there is a role for every community member, civic group, congregation and company to play. And I have to believe that’s true for whatever issue you care about or local problem you’re eager to see solved. 

Start small: Look for the helpers in that area. Read about their work. Talk about what you learn with friends, family, neighbors. And when you’re ready, take it a step further, maybe attending an event or volunteering. See where those connections take you, in addressing a local problem together or in improving your own well-being. 

Food rescue, food access and food justice must be issues we can all get behind and work together to advance. But they can’t be the only issues. We each have valuable perspectives, ideas, abilities and resources to bear. Let’s put them to work for each other.

Jessica Francis is the executive director of Open Cupboard.

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