By Susan Lee Sharp

For the Salisbury Post

When food is plentifully available in our community, why do so many go hungry? Participants in the recent Root Causes of Food Insecurity workshop more than 30 community members examined this question. They didn’t begin with looking for solutions to “the problem food insecurity,” but went further by asking why it exists in the first place.

Workshop presenters Jarred White, Justine Post and David Allen, of RAFI’s (Rural Advancement Foundation International) faith-based food justice program, Come to the Table, led the group through a series of interactive storytelling activities to reveal the social and interpersonal complexities of food insecurity. Using a social justice storytelling framework, workshop participants compared hidden stories about hunger with familiar and widely promoted “stock stories” that often go unexamined. Stories of resistance and stories that counter widely held beliefs about hunger, were brought together to reveal the complexity of relationships and perspectives that challenge many efforts to address hunger.

Participants determined that hunger is often not an issue of food availability, but a constellation of economic factors that put fresh and locally sourced foods out of reach for many families. Costs of housing, medical care, the erosion of social safety nets and community ties, the social cost of underfunding education and the criminalization of those with behavioral health issues all contribute to wide spread food insecurity. Simply giving food to those who do not have it does not build a sustainable response or engage these deeper causes of hunger. A final invitation to dialogue encouraged workshop participants to explore how our community’s food security needs, resources and actions could better reflect this wider perspective.

Local participants in the workshop included Rev. Ellison, pastor of At the Cross Ministries, who co-ordinates and oversees the church’s robust food ministry and serves on the board of Bread Riot, a local nonprofit linking farms to tables by supporting our small farmers and providing access to locally produced foods throughout the community. “Pastor Dee” offered a challenging and compassionate opening prayer. Hope Oliphant, director of Main Street Marketplace & Meeting Place, offered closing remarks.

She shared the local work being done to address the root causes of hunger. The nonprofit’s mission is to redefine charity and to create a healthier community through partnerships, education, and access to resources, fostering long-term impacts.