- Public Health
- Blog
- Hunger Knows No Season
Hunger Knows No Season
Posted on Monday, Nov. 25, 2019 at 9:16 am
While we may think of food pantries and free meal sites around the holidays, the reality is that a number of households in Dane County, many of them with children, struggle to put food on the table all year long. When a household is food secure, it means that they have regular, guaranteed access to enough food at all times so that everyone in the household can lead a healthy and active life. Increasing food security helps with childhood development, and is linked to a lowered risk of obesity and chronic disease for adults.
Overall, about 10% of households and about 14% of children in Dane County are food insecure, meaning they are unsure where their next meal is coming from. While the rates of food insecurity for whites in Dane County are lower than the United States as a whole, we see a great disparity in rates for Hispanic and African-American households. We know that income, access to transportation, and availability of food stores all impact a household’s ability to find healthy food.
We work with community partners on strategies and policies to improve the food security and nutrition of our community. Through these collaborations we have helped to expand free summer meals for children from low-income neighborhoods, provided incentives for people to buy fresh, local foods at Farmers’ Markets, supported retail outlets to locate in low-income areas and to provide culturally relevant foods, and established universal screening for food insecurity at all pediatric physicals with Dane County health care providers.
During 2020, we look forward to supporting more projects like this in order to ensure equitable food access to all in Dane County. You can be a part of that change as well. Volunteer your time or donate at any time of the year to food banks and other organizations that are a part of our emergency food system. United Ways’ 2-1-1 can help you determine which agencies need help and when. You can also get involved by supporting efforts to improve economic security, transportation, and access to affordable and nutritious food for Dane County households.
Subscribe to Email List
Archive
- Data Notes for the Week of December 30
- A message of thanks from Public Health Madison & Dane County
- Data Notes for the Week of December 23
- How We Know the COVID-19 Vaccine is Safe
- Data Notes for the Week of December 17
- COVID-19 Vaccine: Who Gets It First And Why?
- What’s Allowed in Emergency Order #11?
- A COVID Vaccine Has Been Authorized
- Close Contacts Now have Quarantine Options
- Data Notes for the Week of December 10
- Providing Support to People in Isolation Helps Prevent the Spread of COVID-19
- Data Notes for the Week of December 3
- Tips for A Healthier Holiday Season
- Data Notes for the Week of November 25
- What COVID-19 Testing Can and Can't Tell Us
- Data Notes for the Week November 19
- What's Allowed in Emergency Order #10?
- Public Health Madison & Dane County Issues New Emergency Order #10
- Socializing More Safely This Winter: How To Form A Bubble or Pod
- How to See Family and Friends More Safely Over the Holidays
- Understanding Close Contact
- Data Notes for the Week of November 12
- When to Isolate, When to Quarantine
- Data Notes for the Week of November 5
- Employer Notification Of Employees With COVID-19
- Data Notes for the Week of October 29
- Data Notes for the Week of October 22
- Understanding ‘Clusters’
- Statewide Database Down for Planned Maintenance: October 16-18
- Data Notes for the Week of October 15
- These Next Few Weeks are a Pivotal Moment for Our County and Our State
- Data Notes for the Week of October 8
- Data Notes for the Week of October 1
- Understanding Percent Positivity
- Data Notes for the Week of September 24
- How We're Assessing if UW Cases have Spread Beyond Campus
- For Public Health, Preparing for Emergencies Never Ends
- Data Notes for the Week of September 17
- Public Health Madison & Dane County and the City of Madison Police Department are Partnering to Increase Compliance with Public Health Orders
- Statement Regarding State Supreme Court Action on Public Health Order
- Data Notes for the Week of September 10
- Community Update Following Spike in Cases of COVID-19
- UW, Public Health act to stop COVID-19 spread in fraternity, sorority houses
- Data Notes for the Week of September 3
- Data Notes for the Week of August 27
- Data Notes for the Week of August 20
- Health is a Human Right and We All Play a Role
- Data Snapshot Coming on August 20
- How We Have Made Decisions During the COVID-19 Pandemic
- Data Notes for the Week of August 10
- COVID-19 Contact Tracing: When Public Health Calls and When It’s a Scam
- Data Notes for the Week of August 3
- Data Notes For the Week of July 27
- Percent Positivity Updated on our Dashboard as Backlog of Negative Tests are Entered
- We Can All Be Part of the Solution to the Pandemic
- Data Notes for the Week of July 20
- Data Notes for the Week of July 13
- Put your mask on; leave the enforcing to us
- Data Notes for the Week of July 6
- How to Lower Your Risk While Celebrating 4th of July
- Protests are not currently associated with Dane County's rise in COVID-19 cases
- Data Notes for the Week of June 29
- A Day in the Life of the Data Team
- Data Notes for the Week of June 22
- Help Break the Chain of COVID-19 Transmission--Your Actions Affect Others
- Inequities Evident in Dane County COVID-19 Data
- Data Will Guide Phase 2 Public Health Order
- Understanding the Big Picture: Trends in Data Provide Perspective
- Fighting for racial justice is essential, even in a pandemic
Category
Uncategorized
About PHMDC
Community Initiatives
Environmental Health
Health & Wellness
-
A message of thanks from Public Health Madison & Dane County
-
Providing Support to People in Isolation Helps Prevent the Spread of COVID-19
-
Public Health Madison & Dane County Issues New Emergency Order #10
-
Socializing More Safely This Winter: How To Form A Bubble or Pod
-
Statewide Database Down for Planned Maintenance: October 16-18
-
These Next Few Weeks are a Pivotal Moment for Our County and Our State
-
UW, Public Health act to stop COVID-19 spread in fraternity, sorority houses
-
COVID-19 Contact Tracing: When Public Health Calls and When It’s a Scam
-
Protests are not currently associated with Dane County's rise in COVID-19 cases
-
Help Break the Chain of COVID-19 Transmission--Your Actions Affect Others
-
Understanding the Big Picture: Trends in Data Provide Perspective
-
One in Five Wisconsin High Schoolers Vape—A Public Health Crisis