The American food supply chain has been put in disarray by both the pandemic and the poor policies of greed perpetrated by our recently disposed president.
We Are In a Food Crisis. Never since the Great Depression have so many Americans required food relief to keep their families from going hungry. Over the last year, more than 50 million people experienced outright hunger or lingering food insecurity, including 17 million children.
This is not what Americans are used to: Four of ten of your neighbors claimed that 2020 was the first time their families ever had to turn to food banks and soup kitchens to put meals on the table. The largest network of food banks in the country – Feeding America – sought to offer 4.2 billion meals just between March and October of last year to deal with a 60 percent increase in the number of Americans that got in line at 180 food banks nationwide.
Good logistic science and food bank management will not be enough to get us out of this mess. Nor will good governmental policies be enough.
The backbone of dealing with hunger in America has always been people of faith inspired by prophets who told them to share their daily bread to feed the hungry. Since the Great Depression, synagogues, mosques and churches have offer the most reliable and far-reaching sources of support to the poor, hungry and marginalized, regardless of their race, creed or language.
In Jesus for Farmers and Fishers I argue that good science and deep faith must join hands to lift all Americans out of the disparities exacerbated by the pandemic and the current food, farming and fishing crises.
Let us both pray and wisely work toward sound solutions to keep all families fed.
