Don’t look away.

One-third of all food produced in the world (approximately 1.3 billion tons) is lost or wasted every year, according to the United Nations. Even more shockingly, nearly 40% of all food in the U.S. is wasted, the most in any country in the world. That is approximately 108 billion pounds (or 54 million tons), equating to 130 billion meals and more than $408 billion in food thrown away each year according to figures from Feeding America. While food goes to waste at every stage of food production and distribution from farm to table, food waste in our homes makes up about 39% of all food waste - about 42 billion pounds.?

In a country where we should have enough food to feed everyone, it is astonishing that anyone would go hungry. Yet, in 2021 alone, about 34 million Americans, including 9 million children, lived in food-insecure households, according to the Agriculture Department. And that figure is likely higher this year due to record inflation and economic downturn.?

Hunger disproportionately impacts those who are underrepresented and underserved in our society, including communities of color, LGBTQ, people with disabilities, military families, the rural areas, and older adults.?

According to the recent 2022 State of Grandfamilies Report , there are more than 2.5 million children in the U.S. living in “grandfamilies,” being raised by relatives or close family friends without their parents in the home. One in four grandparent-headed households experienced food insecurity, 60 percent higher than the national rate for all households with children. Unsurprisingly, low income is the most common cause for food insecurity, where nearly a quarter (23%) of grandchildren living in a grandparent-headed household whose grandparents are responsible for them are living under the poverty level.

“Going without food became a necessary trade-off to ensure the children didn’t have to.”?

And the devastating consequences do not stop at the dinner table. Millions of people who are food insecure are affected by diet-related chronic illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure, which are some of the leading causes of death and disability in the U.S. For children, lack of access to healthy food can impact their physical and mental health, academic achievement, and future economic well-being.

From finding suitable and affordable housing, to juggling enormous childcare costs, grandfamily caregivers are faced with daunting challenges. For those who are still in the workforce, they might have to cut back on work — a familiar story that faces caregivers on a daily basis in the U.S., the only developed country without access to paid family leave. As for those who are already in retirement, the childcare expenses can negatively impact the long term financial well-being of the caregivers, adding financial pressure in particular to older women, since 63 percent of grandfamily caregivers are female.

Imagine having to choose between food and medical care.

Or food and housing.

Or food and utilities.?

Access to food, shelter, and clean water should not be a political issue. No one should go to bed hungry at night.

With high grocery prices and lasting pandemic impacts, more and more families are unable to afford the food they need right now. For this holiday season, please consider donating to your local food bank or the Feeding America Network . Help fight hunger this Giving Tuesday and every day, so that we can create a future together where no one will go hungry.

Change can happen when we band together.

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In this week's One Vision episode ...

How does our lived experience shape us, in the path that we follow and the people that we surround ourselves with? How do we instill kindness in the next generation, and teach them to be mindful?

In this episode of One Vision, Theodora Lau and Stephanie F. chat with Genevieve Dozier , speaker, board director of PayTech Women, and founder & CEO Warpaint Consulting , on her past, present and future, playing by the rules, and leading with authenticity.

Prepare to be inspired.

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Beyond Good is available now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble,?Bookshop.org , Kogan Page and anywhere books are sold. You can check out what others are saying about our book?here .

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