The Importance of Hearing Your Voice and Sharing Your Story
Why share your story?
- Sharing our stories, experiences, and hardships is one of the most effective ways to connect with each other. Hearing your story could help someone else open up about their own life hardships or even help someone understand what it’s like to face food insecurity and hunger.
- Every story, situation, and experience is unique — but that doesn’t mean you’re in it alone. Sharing your triumphs, battles, and everything in between can encourage others to elevate their own voices.
- By conveying your story, you’re helping to break the stigma around hunger and the cycle of shame and guilt that comes with financial struggles. Creating dialogue and a narrative around food insecurity helps communities and advocates, and transparency helps everyone.
- Storytelling has even made its way into the political realm. Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) is calling for Americans to not accept the pre-pandemic status quo that left millions food insecure. He is asking to hear the public’s thoughts on how we can solve the hunger crisis and share their own story of hunger, illustrating how influential stories can be in politics and public health. McGovern stated:
“We have the food, the ability, and the means to end hunger in America — what we lack is the political will and moral courage to act. We must change that.”
- Albertsons wants to amplify your voice. Will you share your story?
Who experiences food insecurity?
- The short answer: Anyone can experience food insecurity. Millions of Americans cannot access sufficient, quality food every year due to lack of income, employment status, disabilities, geographic location, and so on.
- However, some communities are more vulnerable than others. Poverty is the most significant factor in hunger — living in low-income households is the most common cause of food insecurity.
- Native Americans suffer from the highest rates of food insecurity in the country. About one in four Native Americans experience hunger, compared to 1 in 8 Americans nationwide, making Native households 400% more likely to report food and water insecurity.
- Black Americans also experience one of the highest rates of food insecurity in the country. In 2020, an estimated 24% of the Black community experienced food insecurity, compared to 8% of white Americans in the same year.
- Women also face food insecurity at disproportionate rates worldwide, making up 60% of people stuck in the hunger cycle. Single-mother households have a nearly 25% rate of food insecurity in the U.S.
- Not only does food insecurity risk increase amongst people with disabilities, but it can also contribute to worsening health conditions and higher probabilities of chronic disease (full USDA ERR-235 report). In households with an adult receiving federal or state disability benefits, 22% experience food insecurity.
- Over 17% of the Latinx population is food insecure, which further illustrates the correlation between poverty and hunger in the U.S — Latinx communities account for almost 19% of the total population, yet makeup 28% of those living in poverty.
Whoever you are, and whatever you’ve experienced, you’re not alone. We want to hear your story, your thoughts on the stigma, and your solutions.
