Bringing food, promise and hope to those who need it most
TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
Raising Funds and Awareness for Food Insecurity
100% proceeds donated to fight food insecurity
Insights|Read my Articles
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Interfaith Food Pantry Network
Making a Difference in the Community
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For over 25 years, the Interfaith Food Pantry Network has improved the health and well-being of Morris County residents in needs by providing access to food, education and other resources.
If you are looking to find help, volunteer to donate, here are some resources:
ARTICLES- Read More
C O R O N A V I R U S H U N G E R C R I S I S
Zara Syed | April 2021
The Coronavirus has not only sickened people and caused enormous fatalities, it has also done great damage to families in need of food. Our world is on the brink of entering a period of food insecurity, a pandemic of hunger. But it’s vital to acknowledge this problem was prevalent well before the pandemic came marching into our lives. This was a pressing issue before the onset of the virus and has amplified to catastrophic proportions not just in underdeveloped countries but also here in the United States.
Before COVID-19, a study showed that in 2019 there were more than 35 million people in the United States of America who didn’t have enough to eat! As of 2020, there was a fair amount of food being produced and distributed around the world, but yet, more than 42 million people (including many children) are still going to sleep hungry in America. These numbers are steadily increasing and will continue to do so.
One major motive causing an increased percentage of our population struggling to afford food is COVID-19. Since over 14 million workers lost their jobs and even more were furloughed due to the ramifications of the coronavirus, many people are not able to sustain basic necessities, including food. This is one of the compelling reasons so many people were forced to skip meals as the pandemic raged on. To intensify this problem, food pantries that had been working towards a successful solution were impacted due to COVID-19 as it was no longer safe to distribute food the way that they had done before. Fortunately, as vaccines are being dispensed, this practice may resume gradually and safely.
There are many people in this world who are willing to help those who aren’t lucky to have even a single meal a day. The pandemic has unveiled the stark differences in society but has also caused people to be more emphatic. In these unprecedented times, there are people who otherwise did not encounter difficulties have gone through the experience of not having enough food, and therefore want to give back to the community that helped them get through such turbulent times. Bringing hope and light, food pantries are working conscientiously, gathering food to distribute to the unprivileged. One such non-profit organization, Interfaith Food Pantry located approximately 5 minutes away from where I live. In addition to these large programs, individual initiatives- like my effort ,Good Intentions, which brings food to pantries through raising funds by selling items like handmade cards or paintings- have progressively increased their presence. People in this world care, and that’s why these food pantries and non-profit organizations are existing and surviving .
The Coronavirus has brought great challenges including pronounced food insecurity. Fortunately, day and night, there are people around the world who care, and there are people around the world who want to make a difference. That’s what Good Intentions is about: bringing food and hope to those in need .
Technology’s Impact on Food Banks
Zara Syed | July 2021
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In today’s world, every company is considered a technology company. Technology has revolutionized how we live, how we think, and how we create solutions. Technology, the wide range of possibilities that this one word covers, plays an essential role in society today. It continues to enhance business productivity, communication, educational systems, purchasing options, infrastructures, health systems, and even nonprofit organizations!
Technology energizes and boosts nonprofit organizations. With technology, organizations that fight food insecurity can publicize their initiative without incurring significant costs. Technology also helps food banks augment the services and products they offer. For example, through the integration of technology, food pantries can improve efficiency in inventory tracking & food distribution and fundraising & donations. Through digitalization (website, social media like Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, etc.), food pantries are able to raise awareness about their initiatives and necessities. In 2020, food pantries across America were able to deliver 6 billion meals to households around the country because of public awareness that had been raised.
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Communities at large, including young adults, have been pitching in to help food pantries whether in-person or through creative solutions. For example, in 2020, Riya Dadheech won the 2020 Congressional App Challenge for New Jersey’s 11th District as stated by U.S Representative, Mikie Sherril. Riya’s app, Plate of Hope, implements two main sectors, Food Pantries and Soup Kitchens and donors and essentials. First, a food pantry or soup kitchen states the food or materials that they need to provide their community with necessary meals. Then, a doner ( restaurants or individuals) reponds and fills that plate, by donating the food or materials that the soup kitchen or food pantry had requested.
As you can see, the rising generation are now developing innovative ways to assist food pantries through mobile devices and solutions like apps (similar to Riya’s). Technology is defining the word convenience throughout the world. Whether it is tracking packages, returning orders, or online shopping, technology really is demolishing tedious activities that we once had to do. And, it is revolutionizing the ways pantries operate too!
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Technology, as you can see, plays an enormous role in helping the modern world’s tasks be done. Although it may not seem like it, food pantries greatly benefit from technology! Processes in food pantries improve with appropriate systems translating to convenience for pantry workers, volunteers and people who use these amenities.. Technology is important to food pantries, and I really hope that this article helped you understand that food banks can use technology to fight hunger.
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The Chain Effect Leading to Hunger | The Need to Empower Women
Zara Syed | July 2021
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If world hunger were a math equation, women empowerment would be a key variable to solve the equation! According to the United Nations, there was a dramatic increase in world hunger in 2020, part of it most likely attributed to Covid-19. We often question how we can cease world hunger, but never really acknowledge that a likely solution has been in front of us for years: enabling and empowering women translates to improved well being for children , households and communities. This in turn contributes to long term social and economic growth. There are many facts that depict that we can eliminate world hunger by empowering women.
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According to bread.org, approximately 60% of the people in the world suffering from hunger are women! Unfortunately, that means that about half a billion women and girls aren’t provided with food. In her book The Moment of Lift, Melinda Gates writes, “When the barriers that block women’s progress are broken, opportunities open up that not only lift women out of poverty, but can elevate women to equality with men in every culture and every level of society”. Research reveals women are more likely to spend their income on childrens’ health and taxes thus increasing the living essentials of a family household. If girls are educated and women are employed, it will give them a chance to change the course of action in their household and possibly reduce the amount of bad decisions that lead to hunger. With an increase in women’s income, our economy (individual households) could remotely benefit. As stated in an article in World Vision, this was evident in the 1970s , when researchers observed there was a correlation between a decrease in child malnutrition and an improvement in women's standing in society- it accounted for 43%. Gender discrimination, as shown in this paragraph, is a huge barrier to stopping world hunger. Although many national constitutions are now prohibiting gender discrimination, it is hard to turn this deeply imprinted mark in society into reality.
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Ridding women of their right to having a voice is ridding them of their right to make decisions. Stealing their education and economic opportunities is stealing their right to make nutritional choices for their families and households. Studies from bread.org have shown that empowering girls and women with their righteous independence and education is vital in a beneficial social transformation and transition. Empowering women to their full potential could decrease the number of hungry citizens by 150 million people, according to the UN food agency. As said by Terentius Afer, “It is easyer to saye than to do.” (It is easier said than done). One of the strongest ways to confront the problem of gender inequality is to face the root of the issue! Girls' education has to be encouraged. When girls are able to sustain their education, health decisions are wiser, higher wages are received, and they are more active in their community. Unfortunately, according to World Vision, 130 million girls from age 6-17, are still out of school. Another way to help empower women is to provide them with clean water. Girls spend more than 200 million hours per day finding and filtering dirty water. If clean water was provided, girls would be able to spend more time going to school or spending time with their families than doing necessary chores. One more way to stop hunger by empowering women is to raise awareness about the essentiality of empowering women.
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Historically, women have been seen as caretakers for their households, meant to stay at home and not bother about political planning or financial management. Hunger has continued to rise dangerously.. Maybe it’s time to change things. The world is entering a new era where girls will have an equal chance at education as boys, where women will have an equal say at nutritional choices and family planning, and where women will have an equal opportunity in the foundation of our economy. Empowering women will stop world hunger. Depriving women, in contrast, will fracture the progress we have made in ceasing world hunger. It is all a chain effect.
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GENDER FOOD INSECURITY
Zara Syed | June 2021
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Gender Food Insecurity … What does that really mean? It’s the 23.7% of men in Africa who suffer from food insecurity in comparison to the 25.2% of women in this region who suffer from the same problem, just at larger rates. Numerous reports (specifically UCDA reports) reveal female-headed households are 31.6 to 21.7 percent more likely to struggle from food insecurity than male-headed households! It is the stained imprint that the historical past has left on the present and maybe even girls’ futures.
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Gender Inequality is a compelling issue in today’s world. This abominable presence has snowballed into a global crisis through decades of disregard! Now, not only does gender inequality represent the gender pay gap or gender discrimination, but it also diverges into gender food insecurity! The gender hunger gap is really the result of a countless number of factors including the gender pay gap, discrimination against women, gender based violence, and sometimes even challenges involved in motherhood. It is a social and economical issue deep rooted as an ethical norm in a “civilized community.”
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Before COVID-19, 13.7 million households in America weren’t able to procure an adequate supply of food! Unfortunately, female residents experienced this struggle at a rate almost double to what men had to anticipate! Data like this makes this bearing (that women lack food) awfully apparent.
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Although this is a massive issue today, and continues to expand to a bigger percentage of the world, there are people working towards painting a different future; a future with hope and equity, for not only men, but also women. Federal nutrition programs like SNAP are determined to make a difference in the world today and what will be our tomorrow. SNAP upheaves millions of Americans from food insecurity according to Move for Hunger. There are also other programs, like the WIC program, which are only focused on helping low-income women and children receive necessary nutrition and healthy foods! There are people in the world who are not just believing in a future where there is no gender hunger gap, but are also taking action to make their beliefs a reality.
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Along with these sizable organizations, there are also things that people like you and me can do in our local community to support the eradication of the gender hunger gap. For example, you can volunteer at a local nutrition program or consider donating to a federal program to help women facing hunger. Even obtaining awareness about this problem is a helping hand to the low-income women and children around the world who aren’t receiving proper nutrition.
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I really hope that this article has informed and encouraged you to take action and believe in a better future; a future where there is no gender hunger gap. I am so grateful to be raising awareness on this topic! I hope my initiative, Good Intentions, will make a small difference in food insecurity.
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