Many Americans celebrate Thanksgiving by enjoying a sumptuous feast with family and friends. However, growing prices and income difficulties will force some people to forego any such celebration this year. There is more food insecurity in the United States than the average middle-class citizen is led to believe.

As the Food Research & Action Center states, food insecurity afflicts 12.8% of households (about 44.2 million people) in the country; they do not have reliable access to cheap and healthy food. The situation is so bad for some 5.1% of households that their inhabitants often go hungry. This problem affects Blacks and Latinos more often than it affects whites, and rural areas suffer more.

Michael Fakhri, the United Nations’ authority on the universal right to food, states that there has been a recent push towards the idea that all people deserve sufficient nutrients regardless of economic conditions. Fakhri and food activists are pushing for government guarantees of food for citizens.

So, what is the government doing to solve food insecurity?

All United Nations countries save the United States and Israel accepted a 2021 resolution affirming access to food as a human right. Yet, even in the U.S., Maine approved an amendment to its constitution to make food a right, and nine U.S. states have enacted free school meal programs. Other countries like the United Kingdom and Switzerland have seen similar approaches.

Perhaps this is an indication of a trend away from food insecurity both in the U.S. and around the world. Nevertheless, we citizens must show that we will not tolerate this state of affairs any longer. For Thanksgiving to truly be a time of prosperity and plenty, we must hold our government accountable for our needs: vote whenever possible!

Sources:

https://frac.org/hunger-poverty-america

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/nov/09/united-nations-right-to-food-us-hunger

https://unsplash.com/photos/assorted-fruits-and-vegetables-3nX7pythQyM