(Photo by: Jasmine Mills)

Has the usual JCCC student heard of the term “food insecurity?” The term dovetails with “food deserts,” another term in vogue nowadays. Both terms basically describe a dearth of food in one’s life. These conditions are usually linked to persistent poverty or a lack of possible food options in the area one frequents and/or lives. Think of the literal meaning of the term “food deserts.” That is, imagine a place with so few eating options that it seems akin to a desert without an oasis. Such places do exist in Kansas City and are on both sides of the state line.

Feeding America defines food insecurity as  “when people don’t have enough to eat and don’t know where their next meal will come from.”

Along that definition, one could make a comparison to attempting to acquire food stamps and the uncertainty that such an action could entail.

JCCC’s Student Basic Needs Center is having a holiday food drive starting on Monday, Nov. 3. It is a dedicated effort to offset this constraining condition. While not a cure-all, the drive hopes to help where it can and promote itself as more than a proverbial drop in the bucket. The food insecurity that people experience in Johnson County can be ameliorated somewhat by donating to this drive.

Robert Miller, the SBNC’s coordinator, said that certain items like pumpkin, cornbread and yams were preferred in terms of actual donations for the drive.

In terms of the drive’s literal significance, Miller said that it was not in vain. 

“The drive is so important because it raises awareness about food insecurity during the holiday season,” Miller said.

Miller also pointed out that financial donations would be welcome. 

“People are more than welcome to donate money if they would like to,” Miller said. 

Those who are interested can donate securely here. 

Krystal Anton, the zero waste coordinator for the Center for Sustainability at JCCC, has her take on food insecurity. 

“Food insecurity is when folks don’t have enough to eat, and/or do not know where their next meal will come from,” Anton said. “This can be for various reasons, like homelessness, not enough money, lack of transportations or access to food.”

Lizzy Warner, a student at JCCC who has been involved with the campus environmental movement, has her own solid definition of what a food desert entails. 

“[A] food desert is a location where adequately nutritional food is unavailable,” Warner said. “Kansas City, MO, is a great example of a food desert.”

The drive is scheduled to be from Nov. 3 to Dec. 22.