Launched in September 2009, the primary goal of Mapping an End to Hunger is to expand beyond the historic concept of providing hunger relief and to build a systemic community model that is targeted to end the problem of hunger in Polk County.
Why now? While food insecurity rates have been decreasing in Missouri, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, and South Dakota since 1998, food insecurity has increased in Iowa. As we approach 2010, there are more people experiencing hunger in Greater Des Moines than ever before.
DMARC and other charitable organizations have long served the community through neighborhood pantry sites and services with the intent to provide social assistance and to fill service gaps that are not met through government programs. Despite long-term and sometimes heroic efforts, however, the existing ad-hoc approach and loosely-structured emergency food delivery system in Polk County has inherent limitations, and is ill-equipped to bear the burgeoning burden of food insecurity and hunger.
What will we do? Phase 1 of the projectwill create an electronically-accessible food security map of the Greater Des Moines community. The project will result in an accurate snapshot of the current landscape of the food “system” by assembling all available information on food sources for low-income families, as well as new, interview-based and dynamic information from consumers about food acquisition and use patterns. The resulting map will facilitate system-wide dialog and planning and will serve as a catalyst for the creation of a coordinated, community-wide response to hunger.
How will this project make a difference? Project results and findings will address Healthy Polk 2020 community priorities as follows:
- Devote additional resources to prevention and wellness. The comprehensive food system map and related data will serve as additional prevention and wellness resources, providing a publicly available dataset to locate virtually all major food sources. In addition to revealing the status of the existing food “system”, the project will serve as a catalyst for food system reform and reconfiguration intended to improve the long-term health and wellness of the community.
- Empower more people to take responsibility for maintaining their health. The map and related educational materials and outreach efforts, will serve as powerful resources for consumers, empowering them to take responsibility for maintaining their health – particularly through improved access and awareness about resources and tools available to obtain nutritionally adequate foods.
- Ensure access to affordable, healthy food for everyone. Efforts to educate consumers about the importance of eating more nutritious food will fail if such foods are not affordable and available. In many low-income neighborhoods it is virtually impossible to find fresh, nutritious food. Project findings have potential to inform and influence community development and planning that will remove barriers and enhance accessibility to affordable and adequate food supplies.
Visit
www.dmreligious.org to view Mapping an End to Hunger project updates and for a list of partnering community resources, planners, food system experts, and funders. To learn how you or your organization can support this project, contact Kristine Frakes, Development Director, at 515-277-6969 or
kfrakes@dmreligious.org.