Most Americans are still recovering from the food coma that is typical of Thanksgiving. A day millions of us gobbled up second helpings of carbolicious foods averaging as much as 4,500 calories, way over the daily recommended 2,000-2,500 calories. This celebrated gluttony is cultural, part of how we have a good time during the holiday. I certainly enjoyed my friend’s Thanksgiving spread, sampling from a gastronomic buffet so expansive that it was a wonder the table didn’t buckle from the weight of the delicious dishes — favorites and new tastes.
With inflation up 7.7% from a year ago, most of the ingredients to make those dishes cost considerably more. The sticker shock was big enough to command my attention, though typically I have the luxury of not paying close attention to the grocery prices. Fresh and Lean delivery meal service surveyed 1,500 would-be grocery shoppers from across the country. 93% said groceries are too expensive and 66% of those said they were taking fewer trips to the grocery store.
The belt-tightening hurts, but it’s devastatingly worse for those who can’t afford to buy food, period. Those for whom hunger is an everyday reality. In Massachusetts, that’s one in six households and one in five families with children — many of whom are Latino, African-American and Asian.
Ironically, Thanksgiving, a day symbolized by the horn of plenty, is in many ways the best reminder of what some call a hidden epidemic: Food insecurity suffered by the millions who don’t know where their next meal is coming from, like seniors on a fixed income, college students who regularly access on-campus food pantries and working parents who forgo meals so their kids can eat. That’s food insecurity hidden in plain sight.
For the social service organizations in a year-round struggle to help feed the hungry, the abundance characterizing Thanksgiving and the entire holiday season offers a sharp contrast to those with little access to food, and something else — an opportunity to underscore the urgency. In the recent fundraising appeal of Project Bread, the largest anti-hunger program in the state, CEO Erin McAleer wrote, “Hunger often only comes to mind during the holidays, when food drives and opportunities to serve holiday dinners are prevalent.”
Maybe self-interest will prompt our political leaders to get serious about a comprehensive solution to solve hunger. Because it turns out, ending hunger actually boosts economic growth. While I am warmed by the number of ordinary Americans leading food drives, dropping off meals, maintaining community pantries and donating to food banks, I’m angry that it’s necessary and not near enough. And angry because hunger is a solvable problem, and widespread hunger in a rich nation like ours is obscene. We are morally poorer by our full-bellied lack of collective will to fix it.
