The United States (U.S.) is facing a food security crisis: One in six Americans lives in a household that cannot afford adequate food. Of these 50 million individuals, nearly 17 million are children. Food insecurity has skyrocketed since the economic downturn, with an additional 14 million people classified as food insecure in 2011 than in 2007.
For these individuals, being food insecure means living with trade-offs that no one should have to face, like choosing between buying food and receiving medical care or paying the bills. Many food insecure people also face tough choices about the quality of food they eat, since low-quality processed foods are often more affordable and accessible than fresh and nutritious foods. Food insecurity takes a serious toll on individuals, families, and communities and has significant consequences for health and educational outcomes, especially for children. Food insecurity is also enormously expensive for society. According to one estimate, the cost of hunger and food insecurity in the United States amounted to $167.5 billion in 2010.
The U.S. government’s predominant response to food insecurity involves a series of programs known as Domestic Nutrition Assistance Programs (“DNAPs”) that provide food and nutrition services to low-income Americans. Millions benefit from these programs: The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, serves approximately 1 in 11 Americans each month, while more than half of infants born in the United States receive nutrition benefits through the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).
Yet DNAPs fail to adequately address the needs of the 50 million Americans who live in food insecure households. First, eligibility requirements may be drawn too narrowly, thereby excluding many food insecure individuals from receiving benefits. Second, eligible participants face numerous administrative barriers to participation, such as complicated application and renewal processes. And third, the benefits provided through DNAPs may not be sufficient to meet participants’ food-related needs.
The limitations of government nutrition assistance programs are reflected in Americans’ increasing reliance on private “emergency” food providers, like food pantries, which many now turn to as a routine source of food. Yet private entities are themselves struggling in the face of the economic downturn and a growing demand for assistance.
Food insecurity in the United States is not the result of a shortage of food or of resources; it is the result of poverty and of policies and programs that fail to prioritize the needs of low-income Americans. Despite the magnitude of the problem, and its far-reaching implications, eradicating food insecurity has not been a political priority. Instead of addressing critical gaps in food assistance, the U.S. government is considering severe funding cuts and other reforms to DNAPs that could strip millions of Americans of crucial support, exacerbate already alarming rates of food insecurity, and push families into deeper crises.
The time is ripe for a new approach to the problem. A human rights approach to food shifts the focus from food assistance as charity to adequate food as a human right. The right to food is a universally recognized norm that calls on governments to ensure that all people have access to food that is safe and nutritious, meets their dietary needs, and is appropriate to their cultural backgrounds. Adopting a human rights approach to food offers the U.S. government a roadmap for addressing the root causes of food insecurity while empowering those who are least able to provide for themselves. Particularly in times of economic crisis, when governments face resource constraints and must manage trade-offs between various goals, the human rights framework signals to governments that they must prioritize the needs of the most vulnerable and ensure that peoples’ basic needs and fundamental rights are fulfilled.
