The Des Moines Register

We talk about food insecurity a lot as a society, but I’m not sure we truly understand the impact it has on our neighbors.

We can donate our money and time to food pantries, and we should. It helps. But many of our neighbors are not willing to utilize those same pantries when they need to because of pride and stigma.

As a third-grade teacher in West Des Moines, I see the problem every day. Many of these food-insecure and hungry residents are children. They may not understand the situation they’re in, and their parents certainly want to protect them from this grim realization as best they can. Children deserve to live happy, full lives. They should come to school energized, focused and ready to learn. Their futures are on the line when they don’t have access to healthy, nutritious food to fuel their minds and bodies. The fact is, young children who do not have enough nutritious food to eat fall behind in their brain development. This is something that no amount of teaching and education can overcome.

Two years ago, the Polk County Board of Supervisors wanted to do more. Feeding America, the national umbrella over the Food Bank of Iowa, estimated that 54,000 residents in Polk County were food-insecure. At that time, the newly formed Partnership for a Hunger-Free Polk County sought to reduce that number to zero. The initiative brought a coalition together including donors, community leaders, nonprofits and food pantries. It added more food pantries to its network and expanded their hours. It created a mobile food pantry that could serve Polk County residents who need food the most. Good progress has been made.

But two years later, the problem is stubbornly real and one question persisted — what does it mean to be hungry here in Polk County? To find out more about those 54,000 residents Feeding America identified as hungry, the Partnership for a Hunger-Free Polk County commissioned Des Moines University to do a local study.

The study revealed stunning results: 23,000 residents in Polk County are truly hungry — adults in the family are skipping meals, they are eating unhealthy cheap foods, and in the case of nearly 5,000 families, children are eating less than they should be. The study also revealed that an additional 77,000 Polk County residents are food-insecure — they have enough food for today but are unsure if they can afford food tomorrow.

Awareness is the first step toward a solution, but it’s not a strategy. Action is required because knowing this problem exists is only half the battle. Donating money and time is important, but keeping the shelves stocked at your local food pantry won’t do much good if the people who need it most don’t know these resources are here for them — or worse, they are too embarrassed to reach out and ask for a hand.

Talk to your neighbors and friends. Share information. Support local initiatives, like the Partnership for a Hunger-Free Polk County, Des Moines Area Religious Council, the Food Bank of Iowa, Salvation Army and more, to end food insecurity in our own backyard. With your support, a hunger-free Polk County is within reach.

Tobi Isbell is a third-grade teacher at Hillside Elementary School in West Des Moines.