Insecure, for sure

Food insecurity has been in the news a lot lately. For those not familiar, basically, there are more people, in the U.S. and in the state of Iowa, who at some point, struggle to provide enough food for their family members. (Wow, lots of commas in there...I like commas)
Food pantries are seeing less donations and an increased number of people are on food stamps. There are many who cry foul, especially in Iowa. How can we, the state who claims to "feed the world" have residents who have food insecurity?
There is no simple answer to this, but here are a few of my theories on the matter...(I am no expert, just a lowly, farm raised redneck with an opinion.)
1) Yes, we do feed the world...number one in soybean production, number one in pork production, number one in corn production, number one in egg production....well here, perhaps this will better lay it all out for you.. http://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Iowa/Publications/Rankings/2012%20Rankings.pdf

With those statistics in mind, and remembering I am no expert and fortunately, have never found my self needing assistance with food, how many of those products do the truly food insecure purchase? Now, don't get me wrong, there are a good number, I am sure, who do try to purchase dairy, eggs, and meat, when they can, but let me throw this out there to you. You can get a dozen eggs for less than $2. A serving is 2 eggs, therefore, six, high protein, pretty good for you servings can be purchased for less than $2. How often does that happen, when you can get a few boxes of kraft mac and cheese instead? While we, as a state, produce a large number of food products that get exported all over the place, two of our number one products, corn and soybeans, are not "table ready." Farmers take a load of verbal abuse from the uneducated peanut gallery for "feeding the world" yet having people in Iowa who go hungry. Well, Einstein, we do not have the climate to grow a lot of "table ready" products on a mass scale. We have the climate and land to grow row crops, so we do, and we do it well.
2) I believe there is a portion of the food insecure who has no idea how to cook, nor do they care to learn. Case and point...my aunt volunteers for Caring and Sharing, during the holidays, they put together "holiday boxes," with donations given by various organizations, individuals and churches. There was a time where five or ten pound bags of potatoes were on the "requested donation" list. That is no longer the case. Why? Year after year, the potatoes were thrown in the garbage because, "I don't know what to do with those" was the answer given when offered a bag of russets. Do you know how far you can stretch a 10 pound bag of potatoes and how many different things you can do with them? I do, but sadly, others do not. I have another friend, who when volunteering, saw a person load her basket with boxes of mac and cheese. My friend suggested that she also take a can of tuna and a can of peas and that the three things could be combined into one casserole, stretching it a little further and making it a little more filling. The response she got, "That sounds like too much work." Now, again, I realize this is a generalization, but really?
3) Often I read, "When I was growing up, mom fed us all from things we raised and grew and now, all of that land is sold to greedy, corporate farmers." There are a few things wrong with that argument...maybe not wrong, but certainly skewed. While its true, that growing up, a great many of us were fed with products grown and raised on the farm, the times they are a changing, and do you know why? It's hard work. Work that people are not willing to do, work that people are unable to do. When I was growing up, and the generation before me grew up, there were VERY few double income families. Mom stayed home, tended the garden, gathered the eggs, butchered the chickens and canned as much of her garden produce as she could. Yes, Dad was in the field, haying cows, feeding pigs, etc. One steer and one hog was saved back from market each year and butchered and the freezers were filled. Sadly, THAT DOESN'T HAPPEN ANY MORE. And it's not because the "greedy, corporate farmers" have bought all of the land, it's because it is not financially feasible, nor do people have the facilities, time or energy to sustain that lifestyle. (And if you think "greedy corporate farmers" are the reason family farms are dwindling, try googling 80's Farm Crisis and doing a little research)
 How many of you grow a garden? How many of you know how to can produce? How many of you have space at your home where you can feed a hog or a steer (or know how to) or own a chicken coop? How many of you can bake a loaf of bread from scratch? Here's what I know...after putting in an eight hour day at one job, and sometimes going on to a second one, I have no desire to weed a garden or get out the rolling pin and put up a few loaves of bread. BUT, if I had to, if it meant feeding my family, or not,  you can bet your sweet ass I would. But, sadly, there are those who would choose not to.
While raising a steer to butcher or even having a chicken coop is not feasible for the majority of the population (pretty hard to have a 1,200 pound calf and a dozen chickens in the back yard in downtown Audubon) it doesn't take much more than a few 12 inch pots to grow a shitload of tomatoes that can be canned or frozen, made into pasta sauce that will last LONG after the growing season has ended, you just have to have the drive to make it happen. (Me thinks that if you can't figure out how to microwave a russet, you won't be a great gardener, either.)
While, I am getting a little rambly here, I guess what I am trying to get at, is that, while I don't disagree there are more people who wonder if they will be able to feed their family each night, I wonder if the numbers are slightly skewed by the few who don't necessarily try? No child should go hungry, but if that child is hungry because of "I don't know what to do with a potato," I certainly wouldn't try to pin the problem on farmers not feeding their own....