What No One's Talking About
Back in early February of 2020, the U.S. declared a public health emergency due to the outbreak of COVID-19. At first, we heard that lockdowns would last for only a couple weeks to "slow the spread," but we would have never imagined that most of the world would still be under restrictions to this day. As we near the one year anniversary of this "new normal," I've noticed that people have become quite comfortable with this very odd situation. In fact, most people would rather work remotely now. We ditched the daily errands and going into work or school for the convenience and comfortability of home. But one issue in particular has gone surprisingly unmentioned since the beginning - hunger.
The United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) alerted the world at the beginning of the pandemic that we could face a major food crisis. David Beasley of the FAO warned that the economic depression will cause stress on the global food supply chain. Beasley said that we are now facing the possibility that "more people could potentially die from the economic impact of COVID-19 than from the virus itself." Now, we see pictures of 10,000 cars waiting at a San Antonio food bank to feed their families. Even worse, most of these facilities suffer from shortages of their own - volunteers and donations.
Check out these other photos, but this time from our own backyard - Minneapolis, MN. The photo on the left, from Sharing Caring Hands in Minneapolis, depicts a long line from back in March during the early times of the pandemic. On the right, you can see a worrying amount of cars waiting for their weekly supply of food at a drive through Minneapolis food pantry.
For my J-Term class called Business Learning Through Service, I wanted to work with an organization that focused on the issue of food insecurity. Listed on the college website, Seeds Feeds' message really caught my eye. I have done service with food shelves in the past, but Seeds Feeds addressed the issue of food insecurity at a fundamental level that the others did not. Not only do they provide fresh food for those in need, but they also have the mission to educate people on the importance of self-sufficiency and independence by teaching them how to grow their own food. This is what it takes to create impactful change to the health of our community. On top of that, the work I did for them was fun and rewarding. Ariel and Julie gave me quality work, met with me frequently to see how it was going, and treated me like family. Working with Seeds Feeds has been a very positive experience, and I would encourage anyone to go check them out and consider becoming a volunteer as well!
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