National Geographic Archives - Page 5 of 5

Hunger in the suburbs

December 16, 2023July 16, 2014

“Radio Times,” WHYY – Philadelphia • July 16, 2014

Perhaps the most devastating aspect of living in poverty is being “food insecure,” a term devised by the government to describe those who are not always certain that they will have access to food. 15 percent of Americans are food insecure, and in Pennsylvania, that number is 12.5 percent, according to statistics from the Pennsylvania Hunger Action Center. And the face of hunger is changing, with seemingly comfortable, suburban families needing to visit donation-based food pantry’s in order to make ends meet. Today, we look at hunger in the suburbs with TRACIE McMILLAN,

Shift to ‘Food Insecurity’ Creates Startling New Picture of Hunger in America

December 16, 2023July 16, 2014

National Geographic Daily News Online • July 16, 2014

Her face was small and pitiful: a brown-eyed, blond-curled toddler, eyes darting, lying on a doctor’s table. First we saw her belly, rounder than her skinny legs would suggest, prodded by a physician. And then the camera pulled back, showing the filthy, caked bottoms of her feet.

Toensing, McMillan: Hunger no longer affects ‘marginal’ populations

December 16, 2023July 2, 2014

Photo by Rachel LeGoubin, Chautaqua Daily staff photographer

The Chautauquan Daily • July 2, 2014

In 1968, CBS Reports showed a documentary called “Hunger in America.” The film illustrated the face of late ’60s poverty: uneducated, unemployed men and women raising skinny-legged kids in run-down shacks. Senior citizens and children were the worst affected. One in 20 Americans at the time struggled with hunger, a figure just above the unemployment rate.

That picture has changed.

Cheat sheet: Myths about hunger in America

December 16, 2023July 1, 2014

The Chautauquan Daily • July 1, 2014

When we talk about food in America, it’s often to celebrate our abundant agriculture or explore a cuisine. When we talk about hunger, we often turn our eyes abroad to developing nations. But there is a quiet, persistent problem with hunger here at home — and last fallNational Geographic sent me to explore it.

For the magazine’s “Feeding a Hungry Planet” series, I visited three parts of the United States — rural Iowa, suburban Houston and New York City’s Bronx borough. Building on the field work of photographers Amy Toensing, Kitra Cahana and Stephanie Sinclair, I met with food bank directors and elementary school principals; shared meals with families who forage for vegetables in the woods and families who subsist on food bank mac and cheese; and talked to experts from around the country.

Once on the road, some of the most basic ideas I had heard about Americans and food were turned on their head.

Morning lecture to address American food insecurity, hunger

December 16, 2023July 1, 2014

The Chautauquan Daily • July 1, 2014

Hunger in the United States looks different than anywhere else in the world, according to National Geographicphotographer Amy Toensing.

“Most of the time, you wouldn’t even know your neighbors were struggling,” she said. “How could you? Some of these people are overweight, and most are employed. They just can’t make ends meet.”