Click HERE to read this article in Spanish.
This post is sponsored by the Anthem Foundation.
Maria* has two children. She works a part-time job while attending college to become a nurse. She also works as a house cleaner on weekends and, when available, as a brand ambassador at local conventions. Yet, even though she is a hard worker and a thrifty shopper, she always seems to run short every month.
Juan* has his own business. He also has a new wife and a 5-month-old daughter. As an entrepreneur, he works over 80 hours a week. He doesn’t always receive payments on time. Yet, that doesn’t mean he can stop paying his rent or creditors. Sometimes, he and his wife have to make hard decisions. Sometimes, they have to go without to provide their newborn with the food and necessities she needs.
Food Security is an issue for the Hispanic / Latinx community in the United States.
Maria and Juan’s families struggle with food security. They do not always have access to enough food for an active, healthy life. And, they are not the only ones.
One out of six Latino families struggles with hunger. For Latino children, it’s even more severe. Almost 1 in 4 are at risk of hunger every single day. If this doesn’t alarm you, it should.
Having employment does not safeguard against hunger. The cost of living is getting higher while wages have become stagnant. The number of working poor, particularly in the Hispanic / Latinx community, has risen. Food banks like Feeding America, which often fill in the gap, note 20% of the people they serve are Latinos,
Food is medicine.
It is life-giving. Having access to healthy foods will help parents stave off health issues, like diabetes and heart disease, and will give children an opportunity to grow healthy and strong.
In order to ensure the Hispanic / Latinx community, as well as other vulnerable communities, have access to healthy foods, as well as nutrition information, the Anthem Foundation has partnered with Feeding America and the Food Trust. Together, they have launched “Food is Medicine”, an initiative that will help people facing hunger connect with food distribution programs and nutrition education.
Watch the Spanish language video below to learn more.
*Names have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals.
Photo by Bruno Nascimento on Unsplash
About Anthem Foundation
The Anthem Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Anthem, Inc. and through charitable contributions and programs, the Foundation promotes the inherent commitment of Anthem, Inc. to enhance the health and well-being of individuals and families in communities that Anthem, Inc. and its affiliated health plans serve. The Foundation focuses its funding on strategic initiatives that make up its Healthy Generations Program, a multi-generational initiative that targets: maternal health, diabetes prevention, cancer prevention, heart health and healthy, active lifestyles, behavioral health efforts and programs that benefit people with disabilities. The Foundation also coordinates the company’s year-round Dollars for Dollars program which provides a 100 percent match of associates’ donations, as well as its Volunteer Time Off and Dollars for Doers community service programs. To learn more about the Anthem Foundation, please visit http://www.anthem.foundation and its blog at https://medium.com/anthemfoundation.
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I love your determination to make progress! Your commitment to your self is inspirational. Love those sneakers
I have personally been a part of this reality of late with covid-19. Ours will pass but the fact is that this was the reality for many long before covid-19 and will be long after. In a 1st world country this should not be the case.