Food is not a privilege – it is a human right.
Everyone deserves and has a right to nutritious food today, tomorrow, and always. That’s why the last line of our mission is: ‘We are working to end hunger and advance the human right to nutritious food in the U.S. and around the world.’ The right to food means that everyone has dignified access to healthy food and can choose what to put on the table and how to grow it.
We all deserve this right. And while it may seem obvious, it must be said. Because in a society where entire communities can only get canned and processed foods, where low-income families have to choose between food and medicine, and where corporate profit drives food producers off ancestral lands, the right to grow and consume nutritious food has not been protected.
At WhyHunger, we believe that nutritious food is an unequivocal human right. Alongside our grassroots partners, we are working hard to ensure that this right is safeguarded. In addition to investing in long-term solutions, we’re committed to protecting the right to nutritious food now. WhyHunger is here to help people find food where they are, when they need it, and in a way that feels comfortable for them, through our Find Food Hotline and online database. We help address immediate needs, connecting people in crisis to nutritious food until long-term, systemic solutions become a reality.
We also believe that governments must protect peoples’ right to food and should work to reduce hunger and food insecurity. Unfortunately, the United States is one of a few countries that does not recognize food as a human right, which makes it harder to address the social and economic causes of hunger as clear violations of our right to food.
But the push to guarantee this right is gaining momentum nationwide. Last year in Maine, voters made history by ratifying the right to food in their state constitution. This monumental amendment, fought for by grassroots leaders, small-scale food producers, and advocates, is the first of its kind in the U.S. It will protect critical tools to end hunger for good, building and strengthening communities’ autonomy over their own food. And other states are following their lead!
At WhyHunger, we celebrate this grassroots victory, and we pledge to continue working to ensure that everyone can exercise their right to nutritious food, each and every day.
Sincerely, The WhyHunger Team
P.S. If you missed last week’s installment of the WhyHunger’s Why? series, you can check it out here.
