Food Insecurity

President-elect Joe Biden played it safe by choosing former Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to return to the post, but that isn't playing well with everyone.

It might seem that restaurant owners Joe Jovanovich and Mohammed Qadadeh have enough on their plates just keeping their eateries open. They run the Pat Connolly Tavern and American Falafel, respectively, and are busy finding innovative ways to operate and pay their employees during the challenging year that is 2020. Yet they’ve also stepped up to address food insecurity among their neighbors in the midst of all that — as have many of their peers in St. Louis’ vibrant, and hard-hit, restaurant industry.

A growing number of families across the St. Louis region are having trouble affording food, as many workers have lost jobs during the coronavirus pandemic. St. Louis area food banks and organizations are working to distributing more meals to meet the increased demand.

At Blessed Teresa of Calcutta Parish food pantry in Ferguson, volunteers have seen a 25% client increase in recent months, with Blessed Teresa serving about 1,300 people in October alone. That’s in keeping with what food banks and other partners are observing throughout the area, according to Operation Food Search’s director of strategic services, Lucinda Perry. She’s seen about a 40% increase in food insecurity rates amid COVID-19 upheaval. The St. Louis community is stepping up to help, including local farms such as EarthDance.

A growing community of Black farmers in St. Louis is working to feed residents in areas with few traditional grocery stores, but for some, the costs of getting started are a major hurdle. A small group of growers and food justice advocates is trying to ease the burden on these aspiring farmers by offering a lending “tool bank” in north city.

Volunteers from St. Louis have harvested thousands of pounds of vegetables from Indiana farms this summer, distributing it to local food pantries and soup kitchens.

There are hundreds of thousands of Missouri families that don’t know where their next meal is coming from. Despite progress, the state is still higher…

Nearly one-quarter of St. Louis city residents have trouble putting food on the table — and for some, it’s a source of secret shame. Embarrassment and…

For the past five years, Champale Anderson has distributed free snack bags to kids in her neighborhood who would otherwise go hungry.“Sometimes that snack…

For many area students, the start of summer vacation means an increase in free time and a chance to spend more time with friends. It also means a loss of…