Food security and food access

Carla Silva (CUNY): Regulating hunger: The historical interplay of American food access and social work

With global food insecurity acknowledged as one of the 21st century’s most urgent social issues, understanding social work’s historical and multifaceted role in ensuring access to food for individuals and communities facing hunger is critical. American social workers have addressed food issues since the late 1800’s. The social work pioneer and settlement house movement leader, Jane Addams, believed that food and community-centred foodways had the capacity to foster humanitarian ethics that could lead to social justice, progress and cooperation both domestically and internationally. Today, food security continues to concern American social workers and often community-based practitioners facilitate access to resources that mitigate the experiences of hunger.