- Now it's just, can I live?

I'm trying to live a tad bit more than I lived before or, or the day before.

I want to have enough food today - If there was an emergency and we couldn't move any further then that would be the end of it You know, it would be walking to the neighborhood center.

We wouldn't be able to make it out to the other food bank and get that food and bring it back out there.

- We're trying to grow.

We're trying to make more money, but the more we do, the more we especially when it comes to food and I don't have that security a - Here's what you may not know about hunger.

In Indiana.

Survey results new in 2024 of more than 800 Hoosiers who needed food assistance show they infrequently go hungry, but their sense of food insecurity, having no certainty where their next meals would come from was stunning.

Greater than 90% were food insec even though they were eating, and 60% of their food was providing poor nutrition.

Food insecurity leads to poorer health, poorer performance of students in school and lower productivity at work.

- Take care me safe - With the stress of the pandemic lockdown fresh in American minds, it would be easy to think those were the days when our neighbors out of work and out of school struggled the most to feed their families, but we would be wrong.

Hunger among working Hoosiers is more prevalent now almost two years after the end of the pandemic than in the last Results of a recent first of its kind survey of families across the state wer concerning families needing food assistance.

Were 50% more likely to go hungry than in prior surveys.

This new research shows where food assistance is needed.

Food insecurity persists regardl where you live in Indiana, but we are still left with the question when food is so plentiful and state unemployment so low, what barriers do working Hoosiers face when it comes to keeping their families fed?

Well, the specifics can be different for every family.

The outcome is the same.

In this program, we'll get a deeper understanding of the so-called benefits cliff.

Learn what the acronym Alice mea and hear firsthand why the healt of food insecurity are impacting the bottom line of the entire state of Indiana.

- This may sound funny coming from a food banker, but food insecurity's not about - Fred Glass is the president and CEO of cleaners.

Food bank.

Gleaners supplies foo to residents in central Indiana to food pantries in 21 counties.

- Food insecurities about povert People are hungry because they'r because they can't access the pl food that is out there.

- There's barriers that have really kept a lot of people from being able to nav and have the right amount of nutrition to thrive.

- It's also important to not lose sight of the fact that we're talking about individ and individual families that are really struggling to try to make ends meet.

- Dr. Emily Warnell is a researcher with the Center for Local and State Policy at Ba University in Muncie.

Her research focuses on rural Ho - I think that is one of the kin of stereotypes about living in rural places is that it's very idyllic and there's all of these really strong social networks that help people survive.

And if you need support or your family isn't doing well, you can go down to the local neighborhood church and they're gonna help you and everything's gonna be fine.

In reality, there's a lot of pov - There was one time where this girl pulled up, it was about five 15 at night and she comes here.

She'd never been to a food pantry, never wanted for anything in her life.

Do you want some help?

Yeah.

Her husband left her, took the m of the checking account, left her with three kids.

She's out there crying.

I'm out there crying.

I'm gonna cry now.

And it was one of those moments that you knew why you were here.

She comes every month.

She's got her job down, but it's not enough to make ends meet meat.

She - Was just stuck.

In Indiana, 500,000 working families are struggling to put food on the table.

A whopping 41% of Indiana jobs are not paying a living wage, forcing families to rely on multiple low paying jobs.

Often they still don't have enou to keep their families fed.

These are adults who expect to work in order to pay their bills, but because a living wage remains out of reach, they are often forced to rely on assistance.

We're going to meet working families, wage earners from around the state, making tough decisions on how to keep food on the table, some who earn too much to qualify for assistance programs and some who are trying to work their way off of assistance for those determined to get off assistance.

Another barrier stands between them and nutritious meals.

It is aptly named the benefits C - 20.

If they accept that job or that increase in pay, they could lose those benefits.

That is what we call the benefit because when a person receives an additional amount of pay, they fall off of the cliff and that cliff is where the bene and they leave the benefits behi - For a household who goes 1 cen over the federal poverty guideli for their household size, their benefits completely disapp The ground falls out from under and they are right back where they started with no resources to help get them to where they h - There is no one circumstance that put these families in a situation of food insecurity.

Kayla Justice and her husband from Fort Wayne had always worked.

I - Was on my third pregnancy.

I had a lot of complications wit I wasn't able to work, and at the time, he was working for a factory that ended up shutting down, so he got laid off.

We didn't have a lot of community in our lives, so it was kind of like a domino From there, we lost our jobs.

We lost our source of income.

We ended up losing our house.

We ended up in our car and eventually we lost our kids We were in motels.

There wasn't a lot of resources out there for us.

It took us about a year and a half to get back on our feet.

Even then, we still struggled and it was hard, but we're slowly but surely making our way up thanks to the community we now have and the resources we now have available, but it's still a stru Yes, it's time to eat.

We're going through something called the Cliff Effect, and you make just enough to not receive benefits, but not enough to get by.

The loss of the SNAP benefits wa We were able to put food on the table all month and we were able to compensate and have food for our kids, especially in the summertime with our kids being home full ti It was very difficult.

And now I'm, I'm finding myself having to go back to food banks at at some portions of the month because we can't afford to buy food for the whole month.

And I, even with couponing and going to different stores and using saving apps, it's not It's not enough.

I oftentimes go without meals just so my kids can have more.

I'll wait until they're finished If they want more, you know, I'll take less later because I don't want them to see what we're going through.

- Sorry, sorry.

- It's hard to think about our d and our goals when we're constantly worried about putting food on the table and putting our family first and worrying about what's best f It's almost like a juggling act and it, it's difficult because we want to do all these and accomplish all these things, but we are worrying about putting food on the table, making rent payments, utility payments, especially now because we lost our snap that affects our other bills and our other expenses.

It almost feels like we're being punished for trying to get ahead in life.

- I've been off of food stamps f I think going on either six or s - Years now.

Heidi Oats Smith grew up in a working class family, and although she needed snap benefits when her children were small, her goal was to be persis and move them off the snap roll - Because I didn't want to have to be dependent on food stamps.

So I guess the struggle for food right now is, well, we had to adapt when we first got off, and we found out that journey was not necessarily cheap.

Right now, I have a total of thr If it's hard for people that, that are not working and it's hard for people that ar I don't even know where to go with that other than, it just doesn't make any good se It's not logical - Why is happening.

Liz and Nigel, row of Plymouth in Northern Indiana readily admit they've made mistakes that have impacted thei They also know they've spent the last few years working hard to recover, only to face more ba - Some of those past mistakes have definitely followed us.

I have a pre-nursing degree now, and I've started for my bachelor and I should have no issues gett but my past still hinders me from being able to use that degree and move forward in the ways that I want to.

- I mean, I understand if you keep changing, keep making the same mistakes, but when you're not and you're trying there, I mean, it's just rough.

Yeah, it's roug - We're spending countless hours and money driving just to make sure that we can afford to have all of the things that we need, the time and energy and gas money it takes to go and That's insane.

If they happen to repossess our car today or Monday, we have no vehicle.

And it's hard because you have so many issues that are constantly coming at you that you kind of have to just decide which one's most important right now and go that route.

But unfortunately, when it's all of these situations like a vehicle and electric and food, those are life or death situations.

You know what I mean?

These are things that we, we need, period.

It's not like, oh, I can't afford my new pair of shoes.

It's like, oh, I can't afford dinner.

It's scary.

- Kayla says she and her husband were adrift without community.

Now she and Heidi are both part of a program in the US and Canada called Circles.

A step-by-step program operated through churches, circles, pairs, participants with volunte to help them stay on track to greater financial independenc - We don't provide services or funds to pay your rent.

We provide intentional friendshi relationship, community, social capital, accountability.

If asked and encouragement to people that are on a journey to self-sufficiency, we'd, we would prefer to say stability.

Nobody is self-sufficient.

We all need somebody.

- Marie Weese directs circles in Indianapolis.

She thought she knew what poverty was about and then realized she had no ide - It was after I started working with circles that, and, and I had sit down, have coffee kind of friends who were economically, racially, culturally different from me, th to really understand what, what it was all about and what the barriers were.

I didn't have a clue.

The only way that that transformation happened in my li was because I became in relationship with somebody that was different from me.

It transformed my life.

I jokingly say that I'm no longer good at dinner parties because when a, a comment is mad people eating bombon on the couch off the government's dollar, I, I know that that's no Food insecurity is having diabet and being able to pay my rent, but not having any money left to, to buy healthy food.

- Indeed, the cost of food insecurity in Indiana is unsustainable.

Feeding America reports that food insecurity increases Indiana healthcare costs by $1.8 billion each year.

Dr. Jennifer Fletcher has a family medical practice in a rural community in southeastern and sees the impact of food insecurity in her patients every day.

- So nutrition is really the foundation of our bodies.

I mean, it, we, it helps us buil strong bodies as children.

It helps us build strong connective tissue, bones, muscle As we get older, we know that nutrition, specifically types of food, high-fat food, high cal increases the risk of diseases like coronary artery disease, cerebrovascular disease, increased risk of strokes, increased risk of heart attacks, increased risk of peripheral vascular disease, problems with heart failure.

So it really does affect all aspects of our health.

And unfortunately, we're seeing and more disease at a younger ag And I, you know, a lot of it, I think can be traced back to poor nutrition, highly proces So somebody comes in and with a, an acute wound and we tell 'em not to walk because they can't put pressure on their foot, so they have to stay off work, and they, if t go to work, they don't get paid.

So then it becomes an issue of b to afford healthcare, being able to afford their medicines, being able to afford their food.

- Linda Beck decided to come off of social security and go to wor She changed her financial situation for the better, but simultaneously changed her food situation for the worse.

- I decided to come off of Socia and go back to work.

Higher bills, of course, but nicer place to live.

The issue is like I manage well with my bills, but when it comes to food, I str especially with diabetes.

I find that I have to get processed boxed things to make it stretch because there's just not enough money.

Doctors ask me to get fresh frui and vegetables, lean meats, things like that.

When my doctor and I talk, he, he gets frustrated if I come in and my blood sugars are really h because they, they give me a list of everything that I'm supposed to do, everything I'm supposed to eat.

And so when I come in, sometimes my sugars are good, sometimes they're not, and he gets frustrated and I tell him, I can't afford to eat the way you want me to.

That doesn't make any sense to t And it's frustrating for me because they feel like I'm not c - Mary Hole wager of Scott County is also among the hundred of thousands of Hoosiers not eating like she should because good food costs, real mo She works in a food pantry and sees clients in the same situation she is in.

She has two jobs and writes her budget out week by week, but still cannot eat the way her doctor wants her to.

- A lot of farmers bring their fresh produce in here to the pantry, which is a big help to myself and our clients, who many of them are diabetics or have heart problems or blood pressure problems.

You know, you're watching salt because of your blood pressure, or you have kidney problems and you have to watch all sorts It makes it hard to manage your money, buy the foods that you need and eat properly knowing that you have to do this to keep your body where it needs to be.

And the options just aren't alwa - The Hoosier workforce cannot s much less thrive when over 40% of those working don't even make the current living wage of $21 an hour.

The Hoosier economy pays the pri Dennis Murphy is the CEO of Indiana University Health, one of the largest employers in the state of Indiana.

He is well aware of what low wag to the state's economy, its abil to bring in high quality workers and the reputations of Indiana e Several years ago, IU Health began bringing all employees up to a living wage with recent inf Murphy knows the health system he oversees will soon have to take systemic action for employees once more.

- You know, having a healthy workforce is critical if you're trying to be in the right mindse to actually take care of others.

So you can probably only bring as much to the job as you have yourself.

And so we actually started to go and look at the health of our wo and say, what were we doing to address some of these social impediments to h Do you have a good job?

Do you have access to food?

Food is important for those who are seriously or critically ill. Then we think about these broader issues in the state of just what our health statistics look like.

And Indiana doesn't rank great.

- Murphy knows IU Health isn't in the food supply business, but as a statewide health organi choosing key partners can make an important impact.

The Nutrition hub at IU Methodist Hospital is just one example.

- We partner with the American Heart Association, Purdue University and Gleaners as our critical res to make this program a success.

This is an oasis in a desert - United Way of central Indiana is a not-for-profit organization with the specific g of distancing families from poverty, we have a goal of ensuring that we're helping p to live the lives they're capable of living.

- A population United Way works with closely is called the Alice population.

ALICE stands for asset limited, income constrained, but employed Chances are, you know someone who qualifies as an Alice family, yes, equipped by listening to our neighbors and seeking creative solutions to our systemic challenges.

Food insecurity can be addressed It requires coordinated action in multiple areas.

Corporations, faith communities, government, and the private sector.

- Each one has a lane and a role And I think right now in central Indiana, we have one of the best appetites for collab The challenge is ensuring that we can focus that collaboration and act with a little bit of urg because our people and our neighbors need us to do so.

- I can't just go out and make it so that this many people aren't struggling with food insecurity.

I can't go out and change that for the millions of people in the United States who struggle to put food on the table every s But what I think is, is very imp to do if you care about those is to start gathering some informat with other people in your commun But who else do I know that cares about this?

Who else do I know who's already working on this issue?

If you go find people who are already doing the work to change those systems, people who are organizing, people who are advocating for widespread systemic change, if I can get together with a hundred people, 200 people, if we can organize institutions that care a lot about this work, if I can get leaders of those institutions to tell th of Congress this matters to me.

All of that activity, all that communication, will indicate to this member of Congress's decision maker that this is something that many people care about and are willing to do something And it might signal to them that they should do something about it too.

- There are proven solutions.

For example, for one year during the pandemic and expanded child tax credit li of children out of poverty.

A remarkable impact - During the pandemic, the child tax credit went back to families, and the research sh that families spent it on essent They weren't saving it, they weren't using it extravagantly.

They were using it to pay for their food budget and their rent and their utiliti because there wasn't a sufficien income in the household to do th - The child tax credits that we during the pandemic definitely made a world of difference for us.

We were struggling.

Nigel was st and it was the only relief that we had at the time.

- There are efforts in the advocacy community across the country to bring back the child tax credit, to make it something that is a more meaningful benefit for households across the countr It was very effective and very targeted to families that needed that assistance.

It's currently tied up a little bit in Congress, - Maybe in my thinking, it's a, it's more simple than what it actually is, but I think if people are struggling with resources and they don't have enough money money is actually the thing that would solve that issue.

You know?

So putting money into the hands of people who don't have enough in trustin and believing that those individuals are resilient, they are competent, they are resourceful, they know what to do with money.

You know, there was all this pushback about the sort of money that was given out to e through the pandemic, but then there was money that had continued to come in and people were able to buy their own food.

People were able to pay their bi I think we have to dispel this idea that folks are lazy and they're unmotivated and they're just looking for a h - I would challenge some of our corporations to look at their practices, to s how it could better serve our ne You know, they have that pressur to meet quarterly dividends, but our families have pressures to meet evening meals, and so how can they work togethe I don't know smarter people than I can figure that out.

But we need to solve them both.

- I mean, we care enough about people to give to those causes that will make their lives better.

And there's no better cause that I can think of than helping people have enou that they might be able to live and live an abundant life.

I think the biggest challenge for communities of Faith is to first demonstrate hospitality, graciousness, compassion, and love.

- Food pantries are not the solution.

They're a bandaid.

We try to help as many people as but it just isn't enough.

And there needs to be systemic change by government, by community, by corporate.

- We're in the poverty alleviation business.

We have a common foe, whether it's healthcare, housing, food insecurity, and that common foe is poverty - Policy solutions at a state and federal level that address the root causes of food insecurity, have the cha to make the largest impact, but policy takes time.

Food insecure.

Hoosiers need foo Now, fortunately, agencies and employers who see the crisis are finding creative ways to ease the pain for workers trying to access food.

- As part of the Working Hungry documentary, we brought it here to Plymouth and we kind of had this little s And as part of that, our chamber director came down to watch, and she contacted me shortly after that and she's like, Chris, we've got that was so touching to me.

I've gotta figure out a way to g out to the community.

How can we do that?

And so what she ended up doing was send to her board members and had them kind of preview it.

So one, one business owner kind of shyly spoke up towards the en and said, I just really feel like I need to share with you that after I watched this, I went back to my business and I just started going around and talking to my employees and asking them questions about lives and their lives at home.

And, and what she learned was that beyond caring for their own children, a lot of them were caring for a parent or an elderly grandparent or a sibling or some other adult in their life that they were also caring for and providing for.

And she, she was humbled by that, kind of taken back by that and realized when they come in, sometimes they're tired.

And maybe it's, it's not that they wasted their night away, but that they were up with, you know, both ends of the caring that they were doing for people.

And so she actually went through and raised her wages.

She has talked about how it just changed the atmosphere in her environment, that they're eager to come to work, they're more productive, they are sharing life with each other, and it's just a totally different environment.

And so it was a win for everyone across the board.

I know a circles community - Where their employer decided to give everybody a bus pass instead of a raise.

And so all of their transportation issues for gettin to work were taken care of by that monthly bus pass.

So in a way, they were able to get a raise without getting a that would affect their benefits - Hunger is not pars.

Hunger is not Republican.

Hunger is not Democrat.

Hunger is not libertarian.

Hunger is a slap in the face of And hunger is not owned by anyon Hunger is something that everybody ought to work on.

- There's, you know, just bare, bare minimum things that I need and I'm going to bend until I br if I push it too much.

- We definitely need systemic ch for families to flourish.

We can't be worried about putting food on the table and you pay for bills if we want to grow and prosper.

- You can get up and you can start walking again, and you'll get where you wanna g If you don't stop, you can help other people pick themselves up along the way.

And as long as we're all walking together, we will get where we need to go.