Women’s History Month at FFGE
Many of us will remember a photo used in high school history books to illustrate the Great Depression: a man in overalls, looking at the camera; two children, blonde, thin, but not too thin; the mom, who alone of the four looks positively gaunt.
There was a reason for her thinness: when there wasn’t enough food to go around, it was the mother who went without food. You couldn’t not feed your children, and if the man was going to work he had to have food, so it was the moms who went without.
It’s the same today. Women are 35 percent more likely to experience poverty than men, and they are usually the lowest-paid workers. Internationally, 60 percent of people in the world who are food insecure are women. And in the United States:
“About 10 million households with children in the U.S. are headed by a single mother, and 26.6 percent of these families live below the poverty line, compared to 14.9 percent of single fathers. According to USDA’s most recent report, single-parent, female-headed households are also significantly more likely to be food-insecure than single-parent, male-headed households (31.6 to 21.7 percent).”
Food Research & Action Center
Hunger and food insecurity are women’s issues.
At Food For Greater Elgin, we work to alleviate food insecurity by providing food for families to turn into meals so they can eat together. Because our guests are able to select their own groceries, they have what sociologists call ‘agency,’ power in their lives. Shopping, choosing, and having options dignifies and empowers those who so often have little power, control, or dignity in their lives. We thank you, our donors and volunteers, for making this possible.
Michael H. Montgomery, Ph.D.
Interim Executive Director
Photograph: Fox Photos/Getty Images