Created by Rachel Collins, Erin Menardi, Raeann Langas, Nicole Kasperbauer, and Alex Peterson

At the Food Bank of Iowa, volunteers rush back and forth in the giant warehouse, packing countless bags full of food: canned vegetables, yogurt and cheese, fresh produce, noodles, and rice. The people they serve? Families struggling to make ends meet, spreading from Iowa’s most populated city centers to the rural, corn-filled corners. While its efforts serve a small portion of the food insecure population nationwide, its example leads countless other organizations and individuals to do the same.

Before getting started, it’s important to note a few things about food insecurity. From 1965 to 2015, the population of the United States grew from 194 million to 319 million. That is 125 million more mouths to feed. As population rates soar, so does the number of food insecure households: In the Midwest, one in six people experience a shortage of food in their lifetime.

According to Feeding America, in 2014, 69 percent of its clients had to choose between spending money on food or utilities.

66 percent of them had to choose between spending money on food or medical care.

57 percent had to choose between spending money on food or housing.

53 percent rely on family or friends for help buying groceries and providing meals.

35 percent are forced to sell or pawn their personal property to buy food.

23.5 million people don't have a grocery store within a mile of their home.
-U.S. Department of Agriculture

In hundreds of neighborhoods across the U.S., nutritious and affordable food is inaccessible. This is much more prevalent in communities of color, low-income neighborhoods, and rural areas. "There are few resources for them, and as much as we're the land of opportunity and we grow so much, it's not edible all the time," says Christina Zink, the communications manager at Food Bank of Iowa.

Asking for help from a complete stranger can be a humbling experience. For many of the food insecure families that accept help from organizations such as the Food Bank of Iowa, pride keeps them from contacting these services. "A lot of them choose us as one of their last resources. In fact, they will wait until everything is gone and then reach out to get help. A lot of them will buy discounted stuff, dented cans, expired food, whatever, before reaching out for help,"
Zink says.

"We are an incredibly rich country. Why is it that people are going hungry? Why is it that there are so many families that are food insecure?"
-Ellen Yee, Founder, NextCourse Food Recovery Project at Drake University

"In 2008 and 2009, we went through a significant financial crisis. There were a lot of people that lost assets during that and a lot of people that lost their jobs. There are a lot of people who are employed but underemployed and therefore don't make a sufficient living wage to support themselves."
-Yee

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