Buy food for your family or pay this month’s rent to keep a roof over their heads? That’s a dire choice that many people in our community faced in the past year—some on a monthly basis. And it’s just one of the trade-offs that tens of thousands of residents make to avoid hunger.

A landmark study from the national nonprofit Feeding America provides the country’s most comprehensive look at who is hungry and who is helping to feed them. Released earlier this month, Hunger in America 2014 includes a report on detailed local surveys, conducted by All Faiths Food Bank and funded by Gulf Coast Community Foundation, that document hunger and food assistance here in Sarasota County.

All Faiths and its partner agencies serve 51,800 people a year, according to the report. A vivid picture of who they are and how they cope emerges from the local data:

• Hunger in our region has no ethnic or age boundaries.
• Many people assisted by the food bank are hard-working poor. While two-thirds of households that received help earned $10,000 or less annually, almost as many had at least one member working during the past year.
• Poverty and coping strategies to avoid hunger are linked to poor health and other problems that make it harder to sustain a livelihood.
• These struggling families make desperate trade-offs, with many forced to choose between buying food and paying for utilities, medicine, transportation, and more.

One of the most searing images: Almost half of the food bank’s client households had sold or pawned personal property to buy food in the past 12 months. Almost half. If you have not been in that desperate situation, just try to imagine it. 

The study also examined the work of All Faiths Food Bank and nearly 100 of its partner agencies, all serving on the front lines to feed and stabilize our neighbors in need. The survey of these partners demonstrates the critical role that All Faiths plays as the hub of our region’s hunger-relief system. 

All Faiths’ partners rely on the food bank for nearly three-quarters of the food they distribute. Almost 90 percent said that no longer receiving food from All Faiths would have a “major effect” on their programs. Still, a full third of the agencies didn’t have enough food to meet their clients’ needs. Many had to cut back on services, staff, or hours as a result. In other words, thousands in our community need food assistance, and the agencies and programs that provide it need a strong All Faiths Food Bank.

There are several ways our community can help:

• Donate money or food to All Faiths Food Bank.
• Plan a food and fund drive to support All Faiths.
• Volunteer at the food bank or a partner distribution site.
• Learn more about hunger in our region and raise awareness. (September is Hunger Action Month, a great time to get more engaged in this issue.)

A copy of the local report and links to do all of the above are available at GulfCoastCF.org and AllFaithsFoodBank.org.

With its direct connection to poverty and poor health, hunger in our region has implications for health-care costs, productivity, and more. Providing food assistance helps stabilize families, keeps them in their homes, and allows them to better manage health conditions and move toward self-sufficiency. United against hunger, our entire community can become stronger, safer, and smarter.

Teri A Hansen is president and CEO of Gulf Coast Community Foundation.