According to the latest Household Food Insecurity report, 33.8 million people in the United States experienced food insecurity in 2021. While Washtenaw county is the second wealthiest county in Michigan, 6.8% of children living here still face food insecurity at some point during the year.

As young people, we are about to inherit a world that is pained by hunger. It is our responsibility to raise awareness and create a more equitable system where food is a guaranteed part of life for all households.

Food insecurity is a solvable issue, and the first step to address it is awareness. Without the necessary communication, the people who can easily contribute to help the cause might not be aware of the scale of the issue.

The Food Gatherers’s fundraiser aims to raise awareness while simultaneously taking action. This year, CHS raised $71,471 with an additional $50,000 matched by Harold and Kay Peplau. In total, these funds will provide 242,942 meals to our community. Year after year, this fundraiser has proven how much impact our school community can have.

Creating a local impact, though important, does not equate to fixing the system. The problem lies within a system that makes us fight for human necessities. While food pantries, soup kitchens and other resources have positive impacts, they are a band-aid over a bullet hole. To systematically address food insecurity, we must enact legislation that aids groups that are disproportionately affected by the issue.

It is our responsibility to advocate for policies that address food insecurity at its root cause. Food Gatherers supports the 2023 Farm Bill, which is a sweeping piece of federal legislation that would strengthen government programs designed to better our community like “The Emergency Food Assistance Program” and the “Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations.”

We can advocate by contacting elected officials and local representatives, which can be found on the Food Gatherers’s website.

Advocating for legislation should supplement volunteering and charity work, as both are equally essential ways to make change. The CHS Food Gatherers’s Fundraiser is an example of what can be accomplished by a community rallying towards a common goal. Taking action through projects that are organized through school, like the Food Gatherers’s Fundraiser, can have an immense impact on the community.

If every school in our district focused on a large community service project, that could make a huge difference, at least in the local community. If every school in our district participated in a school- wide community service project, not only would it teach lessons of cooperation but students would learn the importance of being community service oriented.

School-based service projects have the potential to foster a generation of students who will realize their passion for helping others and dedicate themselves to making a difference.

There are 17,070 students who attend one of the 32 schools in AAPS. Each of whom will graduate and join workplaces and communities across the world. They can bring the community service skills that they learn in AAPS to other communities; this is how we can actively work to make the world a better place for all.

Community service must be incorporated in our district’s curriculum just as core subjects like math and English are. It will take school leaders and students to join together and take on this initiative. The result could change our community, and if focused on ending hunger, could eliminate food insecurity.

Every year, the Food Gatherers’s fundraiser gives us a reality check on the harsh truth of food insecurity. Fundraising for Food Gatherers and raising awareness about food insecurity should not stop in November because food insecurity doesn’t stop in November. It’s our generation’s responsibility to make sure no one in our country goes to bed hungry.