Amid season of thanks, food insecurity a lingering reality

MIXED METAPHORS

Food insecurity, defined as reduced access to diet quality and variety, is a long-term problem in Mecklenburg County, where 12% of residents are impacted. One in four Black people in the United States are food insecure, according to Feed America.

While most Charlotteans prepare for Thanksgiving feasts, others worry about their next meal.

Nearly 12% of Mecklenburg County residents are considered food insecure, which is defined as reduced access to diet quality and variety. People may eat less and have eating patterns caused by a lack of funds and resources. It’s especially pronounced among Black people in America, where one in four are food insecure, according to Feed America.

Twenty-seven percent of Black children live in food insecure households and are twice as likely to go hungry compared to their white peers.

Food insecurity is caused in part by food deserts, areas where grocery stores aren’t nearby or easily accessible.

Colleen Hammelman, an associate professor in earth, environmental and geographical studies at UNC Charlotte, said food insecurity is worth talking about all year long, because it is a constant issue in urban communities.

“This is the time of year that many of us really pay attention to food insecurities,” she said. “But that doesn’t mean that people aren’t really struggling with food insecurity in July or March or other times in the year. We see a higher prevalence of it in urban areas, in part, because historically there have been two things going on. One, there have been more people living in poverty in cities and grocery stores and food resources tend to follow people that have money. As the United States became more suburban, throughout our history, the grocery stores followed them out to the suburbs.”

Hammelman cited an example of a Harris Teeter supermarket once located on West Boulevard before it shut down as the area became more urban. The area now lacks a community grocery store.

Over time, racial discrimination left Black people – who are more likely to work low-wage jobs or are unemployed – less capable of feeding themselves and their families. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, more than 9 million Black people could not access enough food to lead a healthy, active life.

“One of the reasons we have more people living in poverty in cities is because we designed our system to do that,” Hammelman said, “and to limit resources and opportunity for people of color to be able to leave the city and live in the suburbs.  Through housing discrimination and redlining policies, all of that meant that families of color didn’t have the option to move to new housing into suburban areas – even if they had the funds to do it, they weren’t allowed to make those moves. People of color often couldn’t buy homes, and so then couldn’t generate that generational wealth that’s really central to a lot of the U.S. society today. We’re a home ownership society, but we systematically kept entire groups of people, largely based on race, out of that society.”

Systemic economic and racial bias isn’t new to Charlotte. In the 1950s and ‘60s, the number of people of color rose more than 50% but legal and cultural separation of the races limited their opportunities for economic mobility. As wealthier white families migrated to southeast neighborhoods, African Americans moved to established all-Black communities in the northwest.

According to westendcharlotte.org, federal government policies for urban renewal resulted in so-called “slum clearance” in neighborhoods like the Brooklyn community in Second Ward. The resulting cultural and economic eradication led to the loss of property and family wealth that left Black people with generational poverty.

In terms of food insecurity, it means individuals don’t have access to affordable groceries, which during the holidays is particularly hard for families with children who would otherwise be able to eat at school for free.

What can be done?

Although a temporary fix for a long-term issue, food pantries and food banks play a significant role. Hearts & Hands Food Pantry in Charlotte is preparing for its largest holiday season. In September alone, the pantry spent more than $60,000 on food for clients.

Hearts & Hands President Kenya Joseph said racial suppression is a factor in why food insecurity persists but over the last few years there’s been a change in attitude.

“Over the last two years I will say that there has been a lot more energy in the westside as a whole to address these issues of food insecurity,” she said. “I also think what helps this shift is our leadership. Our elected officials have to start prioritizing this. Now, to their credit, there have been large projects funded to address this. However, that doesn’t really coincide with the rhetoric of the situation.”

HEARTS & HANDS

Kenya Joseph, president of Hearts & Hands, second from left, said the Charlotte nonprofit food pantry has served more than 25,000 people in 2024, far ahead of the 17,000 served in 2023. "That gives you a good idea of what we are looking at in terms of the needs of the people," she said.

Investing in food security – through farmers’ markets and grocery stores in historically overlooked communities would go a long way toward improving access. If not, Joseph reasons, no real progress can be made.

“When your closest food access is three to five miles away, this can be a serious issue and even prohibitive to some folks,” she said. “We really haven’t had that type of conversation on our city level in what I think is a meaningful way. Yes, they have given money. I don’t want to take that away from them. It seems like leadership in the city is focused on economic development. But how do you create a larger and more robust city when you can’t properly manage those that are most vulnerable? That is the quandary we are in.”

Joseph hopes that one day her food pantry is no longer needed. However, the number of people showing up for service continues to rise each year.

“We served over 17,000 people last year,” she said. “This year we are on pace to serve over 25,000 people, so that is a large increase in just over a year. That gives you a good idea of what we are looking at in terms of the needs of the people. Ideally, in three to five years we are obsolete and not needed. That is a lofty goal. It’s 2024 and soon to be 2025, we have all of this technology and ability in our country. We should have been able to figure out a solution by now.”

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