*Originally posted 08/05/15
Hunger has many faces. World Food Programme reports that every year more people die due to hunger than to malaria, tuberculosis, and AIDS combined. Of those deaths, approximately 3.1 million are children under the age of 5 years old. In Houston alone, 1 in 6 adults and 1 in 4 children struggle with hunger. During the school year these children have the benefit of healthy breakfasts and lunches (as well as snacks and after school meals in some areas). But what happens during the summer break? The parents of these children now have the additional financial burden of trying to provide food for them during the day. To many, it’s a burden they can’t bear.
Thankfully, the problem of hunger isn’t being ignored. There are a wide array of options for families and individuals to pursue if they need help. The most well-known of these assistance programs is SNAP – the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – more commonly known as food stamps. This is monthly assistance that provides eligible clients with a specific amount of money each month to buy food at the store of their choice. SNAP benefits come in the form of a debit card that can only be used for food items. SNAP benefits can be applied for online.
Another option is the WIC program. WIC is assistance for Women, Infants, and Children. WIC is for pregnant women, women who are breastfeeding a baby under 1 year of age, women who have had a baby in the past six months, and guardians of infants and children under the age of five years old. Unlike SNAP, WIC is much more specific about the exact types of food and formula you can choose. WIC also provides nutrition education and referral to other services the family may need. You can find out more about WIC on their website.
While SNAP and WIC are regular, reoccurring forms of assistance, there are other forms of hunger assistance that are more sporadic. Houston has a huge network of food banks that hungry Harris County residents can access. Unfortunately, most food banks are open one or two days per week from around 9am to around 2pm, hours that are inconvenient if you work first shift. Several are open on Saturdays, to help address the needs of working families. Houston Food Bank also has an emergency food pantry that is open from 3pm-8pm on weekdays, and is designed solely for Houstonians that have a job, but still don’t make enough money to afford all the food they need. Some food banks are arranged like a grocery store, where you can pick your own items; others have pre-sorted boxes of food that you can pick up. You can find locations to get food in your neighborhood here.
There are many different options to help kids, specifically, get the food they need during the summer. From free or low cost day camps that provide food and fun, to various church events like Vacation Bible School, a lot of people understand that no kid should have to go to bed hungry. Since school is out of session, people from the community have stepped up to provide free breakfast, lunch and afternoon snacks to any kid in Houston that is under the age of 18. You can easily find a location near you.
The best way to find these resources is to talk with friends and people in your community. There are so many people and organizations out there that want to help, that it would be a shame if all these resources weren’t being utilized to their full capacity. If you yourself don’t have to worry about going hungry, there’s a good chance that you know somebody who does. Share the knowledge! The more conversations people hear about these wonderful resources, the less of a stigma they will feel about needing a little help. There are also a ton of ways you can get involved. Whether it’s something small like dropping a non-perishable item in one of the red barrels that sit in various grocery stores, or something bigger like starting a food drive at your church or place of employment, there are ways for everyone to help out.