This is a quote from Project Bread explaining Hunger in its realest form:“Hunger can be an invisible problem in our society, but one place it never hides is in children. Children are more vulnerable to the impacts of hunger, which shows in their diminished short- and long-term health. A child living in a food-insecure home is 31% more likely to be hospitalized than a child who has adequate access to healthy food.”

It may surprise you that more than ten percent of Massachusetts residents don’t know where their next meal will come from A quote from Project Bread goes more in depth: “10.3% of Massachusetts households—approximately 726,000 adults and children—are food insecure.” Food insecure for me means you struggle to be  able to provide the needed for either you or your family. Not being able to provide food for yourself or your family will often affect work performance and learning ability.

In 2011 food insecurity was at an all time high at 11.9 percent food insecure.

One idea for helping people combat hunger is the SNAP government assistance program. Snap stands for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly known as “food stamps”). This can also be a solution. People in low income households can qualify for Snap Benefits. “Nationally, more than 91% of SNAP benefits go to households with incomes below the poverty line. This is equal to $19,790 for a family of three. This June, Massachusetts rolled out HIP, an incentive program for SNAP participants designed to improve affordability and access to locally grown fruits and vegetables.”

One of the bigger picture solutions is donating to Project Bread. Because Project Bread will help people with that money. You can also give food you can spare to people on the streets; this will provide them with food to eat. You can donate your time at homeless shelters or food bank/pantry.

The government should do more to fight hunger. The government can team up with Project Bread and donate more money to Project Bread so they can hold more fundraisers. The government can make free meals every day for people who need them. They can make food less expensive.

Only an estimated 28% of food insecure households nationally used food pantries. Project Bread has started a new initiative to support gardens and farms in 16 Massachusetts. This will hopefully encourage people who are not going to food pantries because they don’t want to be seen needing help, can go to a farmer’s market and get good food to eat. “Project Bread advocates for a broad set of solutions to hunger that meet people with dignity and ultimately aim to "shorten the line."

In 2016, Project Bread provided financial support to 24 farm and garden initiatives including urban agriculture, community gardens, and farmer training programs in 16 Massachusetts communities. I am happy that project bread is doing there farm initiative, because now more people can have fresh food to eat. Project Bread anticipates and responds to immediate needs in our communities with emergency and short-term programs

Some people may think that Project Bread is bad because they pay their employees instead of using that money to help people. A counter argument for that is Project Bread's employees do get paid but that's their job and project bread helps so many people that paying a few is necessary, It also provides more jobs. Plus Project Bread employees do a lot of volunteer work, in which there not getting paid.

In conclusion, hunger is a very big issue that if not addressed soon could affect more and more people and in the long run put more people out of jobs and on the streets. We should all be doing our part.