Action Against Hunger advocates at the local and state government level to help decrease food insecurity for children. We work directly with the Food4Kids Backpack Program of North Florida, Catholic Charities of Gainesville, and Southwest Advocacy Group of Gainesville.
We feed 472 individuals through the backpack program, weekly.
Meeting quarterly with organizations through Alachua County to brainstorm and build partnerships to combat food insecurity.
The backpack program reaches students in Alachua, Levy, and Dixie counties.
The USDA defines food insecurity as a state in which “consistent access to adequate food is limited by a lack of money and other resources at times during the year.”
In Alachua County, the percentage of children under 18 who were food insecure in 2012 was 23.3% — that’s 10,450 children in our community who aren’t sure where their next meal is coming from.
Each year between 2008 and 2013, the percentage of students eligible to receive free/ reduced lunch has increased. Now more than half of school children in Alachua County qualify for free/reduced lunch.