A Bipartisan Group of Legislators Hope to Address Food Insecurity With the FEED Act

For those who do not know, food insecurity is a condition where people do not have access to a reliable quantity of affordable, nutritious food. This state of being is one that has traditionally affected heavily segregated minority communities as well as communities that are poor, and people have been trying to combat the issues surrounding food insecurity for decades. But since the outbreak of the COVID-19, however, food insecurity has been an even greater issue in the United States, as many Americans have experienced a loss of wages and are struggling to make ends meet. This is why a bipartisan group of lawmakers on capitol hill are working to increase federal aid for emergency food distribution during the pandemic. The FEMA Empowering Essential Deliveries (FEED) Act would allow local governments to partner with restaurants to create initiatives to help feed people who are in need. While some local governments are already doing this, especially in our home state of North Carolina, the key point that this bill addresses is that it would call on FEMA to finance such initiatives in their entirety. Part of what makes this bill innovative is that it would allow for the pre-existing restaurant infrastructure to be utilized for emergency humanitarian relief purposes, while the financing would help cover the cost of materials, as well as repurposed labor. Thus, the bill would cover the rising problem of food insecurity, as well as address the problem of massive unemployment in the hospitality sector, by making restaurants and restaurant workers partners in government relief efforts. (via Food Tank)