Tune in to this interview with Jacob Kraus-Preminger. The time is now to begin to strategize for the 2022 elections. We start with knowing our power.
The conversation began with Gail asking about food insecurity and the connection to voter participation and other issues of racial and economic justice. Jacob began his response by sharing, “So often, people experience food insecurity because they are forced to choose between spending their limited dollars on housing, healthcare, education, childcare, food, and other necessities. We can work together to expand the choices families have by (1) creating better jobs with living wages and (2) making housing, childcare, healthcare, and basic necessities more affordable. All of this requires power: power we exercise at the voting booth, power we exercise in relationship with elected officials, and power we exercise in the face of those who see basic survival as an opportunity to make record profits.
Gail then jumped to this question, “What opportunities and challenges can we look towards as the 2022 elections get closer and closer?” Jacob jumped in by saying, “The biggest opportunity is for us to continue to win real changes by working together across race, faith, place, and economic background. We are seeing how getting together, not with 100% agreement on everything, but with a shared vision for a country where all of us can thrive, is already paying off. Billions of dollars have been invested in communities around the country, but we need to keep building power so that 1 or 2 Members of Congress aren’t able to stand in the way of voting rights, affordable childcare, saving the planet, and other necessities.”
Here's the truth. Those who want to keep working people fighting over scraps while they earn record profits are afraid of the power we’re building to get together, so they will keep trying to divide us, especially by race, faith, and place. We should all be ready to see more dog whistle politics: certain politicians will keep speaking about race in coded language that isn’t explicitly racist but converts a racist message to white folks in particular. We need to call out these attempts at division for what they are and recognize that a coalition of working people who are Black, brown, white, and Indigenous can win real change in this country.
For more on dog whistle politics, check out the work of Ian Henry Lopez. You can always reach out to Jacob via email at [email protected].
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Join Gail this month as she helps families who are facing food insecurity. This is the tenth year Gail has come alongside of families who are hungry.
Here’s Gail appeal ~
Do this. Close your eyes and think about a time you were hungry. Not because you did not have food in your refrigerator, but due to not having anything immediately on hand to eat. Can you hear your stomach growling? Now think about your neighbor going without food for twenty-four, seventy-two hours, six weeks, six months, an entire year. No, they do not have to live next door to you or even in your neighborhood. Imagine, if you will, someone who cannot feed their children or older parents. Picture that person who needs food to take their medication but would instead give their last slice of bread to a child before school. Let's become a part of the solution this year.
Yes, this is happening every day here in America.
Last year around this time, I shared about people who were facing eviction and food insecurity. This year I am doing the same.
Currently, we have eleven families seeking food. Before you ask, during our vetting system, it is has been confirmed that the individuals have been to the food bank, and with the price of food increasing, the need is greater, and food banks are struggling.
American food banks across the country have been dealing with the increased demands due to COVID19. Twenty months later, the new challenge with an increase in food prices and container issues of the supply chain, the nation is facing new problems. According to the Associated Press, the higher costs and limited availability mean some families may get smaller servings or substitutions for staples such as peanut butter, which food banks are buying for nearly double what it cost two years ago. Now that the holidays are upon us, many food banks are concerned they won’t have enough supply for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
We have all heard about lower inventory and labor shortages which have all contributed to increased costs for charities on which tens of millions of people in the U.S. rely on for nutrition, reports Newsweek. They state in their reporting that, “Donated food is more expensive to move because transportation costs are up, and bottlenecks at factories and ports means there's less food coming.”
Feeding America, which coordinates the work of more than 200 food banks around the country, says that this hidden crisis impacts more families than you might realize. In fact, as many as 160,000 active-duty military members are having trouble feeding their families.
Allow me to share more information that I was able to obtain from the USDA Economic Research (https://www.ers.usda.gov)
The defining characteristic of very low food security is that, at times during the year, food intake of household members is reduced, and their normal eating patterns are disrupted because the household lacks money and other resources for food. Very low food security is characterized in terms of the conditions that households in this category typically reported in the annual survey.
- 98 percent reported having worried that food would run out before they got money to buy more food.
- 96 percent reported that the food they bought just did not last, and they did not have money to get more.
- 95 percent reported that they could not afford to eat balanced meals.
- 96 percent reported that an adult in the household had cut the size of meals or skipped meals because there was not enough money for food; 86 percent reported that this activity had occurred in 3 or more months during the year.
- 94 percent reported having eaten less than they felt they should because there was not enough money for food.
- 67 percent reported that they had been hungry, but they did not eat because they could not afford enough food.
- 46 percent reported having lost weight because they did not have enough money for food.
- 30 percent reported that an adult did not eat for a whole day because there was not enough money for food; 23 percent reported that this had occurred in 3 or more months during the year.
All households without children that were classified as having very low food security reported at least 6 of these conditions, and 66 percent of these households reported 7 or more conditions. Food-insecure conditions in households with children followed a similar pattern.
Here’s my call to action.
As you are grocery shopping, pick up a few extra items. Drop them off at local churches, food banks, community centers, YMCA, College Campuses, Child Care Centers, Senior Centers, Fire Stations, Doctor’s Offices, Hair Salons, etc. Be sure to call or google first to confirm they are a food drop off location.
OR
You can participate by investing in the ministry and work of Gail Dudley.
Just like the last ten years, as Gail has celebrated her wedding anniversary with her amazing husband, she is asking you to join her and the Ministry in Motion, News in Motion, and #NIMOSAFriday’s podcast family by investing $30.00 to help provide food to those who are hungry. We have a relationship with Aldi’s and can secure gift cards for families across America to provide food (no alcohol).
You may click this link Paypal link to give to Ministry in Motion.
https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=S3ZUABL7JEPUC
NOTE: The link will say, “Donate to Gail Dudley.”
Or send funds via CashApp $MIMToday.
Thank you in advance for providing for those who are facing food insecurity.
~ Gail
Follow Gail on Twitter and Instagram @GailDudley
Subscribe to Gail’s YouTube: www.YouTube.com/GailDudley
Tune In Monday – Thursday for News in Motion at 7:25 AM www.Facebook.com/NewsInMotion and become a patron on Patreon at www.Patreon.com/NewsInMotion
Connect with Gail on her website at www.GailDudley.com
