The Final Chapter 

Bailee Whitley

INTRO 

As of formulating and brainstorming for this final post, the world yet again is beginning to change shape and color. In mid-February our days were short, cold and gray- snow flurries and ice permeated the air and as a country we had just begun vaccinating those who were most at-risk for specific health conditions. By April, vaccination rollout had extended to older populations but younger age groups looked eagerly ahead as we got sneak peeks of Spring in the form of intermittent 70 degree days. With May flowers just days away, over forty percent of the United States population has received at least one dose of the Coronavirus vaccine and excitement oozes from Bloomington residential areas (cdc.gov). Though mask mandates and max occupancy rules are still in place until May 28 (as of April 28), social gatherings can be seen across campus as the semester draws to a close. While it wasn’t the academic year that many had hoped for, I’m sure many are thankful just for getting through as our species slowly heads toward a conclusion with its year-plus long battle with COVID. Many of us lost someone close to us, or even experienced hardship ourselves. Additionally, the politicization of health measures such as masks and social distancing surely tacked on unnecessary months of this bout specifically in the United States with our previous administration intentionally stirring the pot for media attention. Alas, out with the old and in with the new: with May brings fresh life that breathes hope for a better day without masks and standing six feet apart. 

This final post shall serve as the amalgamation of all the research I’ve conducted this semester which will hopefully provide a glimpse into what it meant to live through this ‘exciting time’ (if you want to call it that) as well as demonstrate that food availability is one area in which future disaster preparation teams can improve on to ensure lower deaths and higher levels of contentment among citizens. For the final stretch of this project, I received a good amount of survey responses through advertising in other classes and in Wells which will provide a sound statistical figure by which your own conclusions can be drawn as well as my own. Additionally, I managed to gather an additional testimonial by a local who had experienced hardship this past year in the hopes that their story can reach you, the reader and their struggles are in a way never forgotten. Lastly, with all the data and knowledge laid out I shall muse into the significance of food scarcity in such a developed country- causes and possible solutions included wherein. Our frontline battle with COVID may be drawing near an end, but scientists in all fields- Sociology, Psychology and even Biologists will be prying through the historical record of this time for decades to come. 

Everyone, even infants understand the importance and necessity of food. This necessity, as you’ve come to understand over the course of this blog series, is exponentially compounded in times of crises like the pandemic we are just finding ourselves crawling out of. Anytime disease springs to levels like we’ve seen this past year, a multitude of variables we otherwise take for granted become questionable, as stated perfectly by a study conducted toward the end of last year when we were seeing a particularly concerning spike in case numbers, “Pandemics create survival uncertainty through infection possibilities, food scarcity, and unemployment,” (Vazirani et. al). Such factors induce a certain level of anxiety in the general population to which the study further explores how food scarcity comes about in these situations, “Individuals facing food anxiety consume more information to confirm, and post-confirmation, they act to hoard food,” (Vazirani et. al). This creates a feedback loop in which the population incites unnecessary fear and anxiety about problems they are initiating and reinforcing by consuming news information which is terrifying them.  In this way, our global media outlets have failed to support citizens and have seized on the opportunity of increased viewership to extrapolate those anxieties. One particularly interesting article out of Pakistan I found regarding this niche situation explained that the media’s role in times of crises like these should be always to inform first and relieve anxieties faced by their viewers in their lives, “The role of media concerning COVID-19 is quite disappointing. Pakistan’s electronic media and famous talk shows are covering the news about COVID-19. However, often the news or transmissions are without medical experts. In the famous shows or programs, senior journalists or rival politicians are invited as experts for a discussion on COVID-19 outbreak, who just argue with other participants or with journalists to boost ratings… on a number of occasions, a discussion (was) turned towards the general public instead of a discussion about the COVID-19 pandemic. No special programs are being aired to inform, encourage, or to motivate the general public’s morale and mitigate their mental stress in this global emergency,” (Latif et. al). In my own personal experience, the first few months of the pandemic were held together by the daily news conference (at 3 p.m, I won’t forget any time soon) on my local news station in which a state-appointed physician would explain the daily case numbers and deaths. I remember watching each day and I began to notice that outside of stating statistics and trends, the individuals on air were not broadcasting the availability of resources like food shelters and it really confused me. Looking back, it’s interesting that this trend was noticed and reported on in other countries. In the future, when humans are forced to grapple with the next big disease or viral infection one way we can be better prepared is a global streamlined broadcast complete with respective resources in local areas for things such as shelter and food. My brief exploration into the media is necessary because for many (including myself), the news sites local to my area proved to be the best touchstone of information relevant to me because many internet sources were plagued with misinformation regarding COVID. Through exploring the wonderful site statista I found that, “CNN averaged 412 thousand total day viewers aged between 25 and 54 years,” and Fox News (which is infamous for spreading botched truths or even flat-out lies) unsurprisingly had nearly 2 million daily viewers (statista). This focal point in society is an area of inflection from which we can improve conditions in future periods of distress. 

DATA COLLECTION

As stated in my last post, the methods I employed for data collection in this project relied on a journalistic approach. My train of thought figured that with all the hard statistical analysis that is being done surrounding COVID and the inevitable future studies that will arise,  a project which focused on individuals in Bloomington and their stories would resonate with readers more than any Chi-squared or t-test. I conducted a series of interviews with individuals residing in Bloomington and Indianapolis, and I got the chance to sit down over Zoom with several food shelter leaders. In addition to the interviews, I formulated and advertised a survey in my classes for the semester in an effort to gather some form of hard-data that could paint a good picture for the reader. Improvements could definitely be made to this approach; I originally planned on conducting at least 3 or 4 more interviews with just students. In this way, first-hand perspectives of a varied situation could be laid out but I could only manage to land an interview with one of my roommates which will be laid out along with the others later in the results section. I could also have improved the strength of my survey with more responses- perhaps expanding the range of responses from students at IU to Bloomington residents as a whole would have garnered more responses and thus strengthened the reliability of the survey. However, seeing as the majority of my readers will be those affiliated with the University it makes sense that the survey would be based out of IU affiliates. In the future, should any brave student improve upon my study, they should make an effort to gather more responses in the data survey and reach out to more organizations around Bloomington not related to food in order to see how COVID affected them so that a broad picture outside the scope of food availability could be painted. 

RESULTS

Over the course of this project, I managed to conduct interviews with three organizations: the Community Kitchen of Monroe County, Hoosier Hills Food Bank (Indianapolis Division) were done over Zoom and I managed to talk in-person with a representative from Hunger Inc. in Indianapolis when I convinced my family to get out of the house and make a donation when I was home for foot surgery. These were the most formal interviews I had and they certainly felt that way although I was able to gain some valuable insight from professionals on the frontline serving the community. In addition to the interviews I will lay out the programs each organization offers in case any of my readers require assistance.

INTERVIEW I

The first interview I conducted a couple months ago took place over Zoom, a format which all of my readers have certainly become accustomed to in these unusual and tumultuous times. The lucky gal who got to experience my first wave of unrefined and subpar line of questioning was Vicki Pierce who serves as the executive director at The Community Kitchen of Monroe here in Bloomington. The organization’s mission statement, available on their website reads, “At Community Kitchen our mission is to work, alone and in collaboration with others, to eliminate hunger in Monroe County and surrounding areas through direct service, education and advocacy,” (monroecomkitchen.com). They offer free and nutritious meals Monday through Saturday from 4:00 p.m to 6:00 p.m with “no questions asked”.  I began my interview by asking what the last few months had been like before expanding my questioning to since COVID arose as a serious global problem. Pierce told me that the past year had definitely put her and her staff to the test and that they saw a massive increase in those utilizing their programs in the first few months of the pandemic (specifically March 2020 and toward the end of June 2020) after which the needy began dissipating in numbers before the organization faced a spike which correlated with the spike in COVID cases around Thanksgiving this past year. Since then, she stated the winter months (the interview was done at the end of February) had been rough but she maintained that the Kitchen was in great operating shape. She emphasized that the first few months of the pandemic were some of the toughest times during her tenure as executive director.

INTERVIEW II

When it came time for my second interview over Zoom with a local organization just days after the first, I had appropriate time to refine my questions and mentally prepare myself as before this endeavor I had never conducted research in such an official setting. But this interview didn’t come easily- Jake Bruner, Director of Development and Administration originally referred me to a video on their website and told me that they were very busy (hhfoodbank.org) . The video did an excellent job providing statistics and testimony related to their journey in the past year, but I still wanted to hear from and have a sit down with a representative just to gain a better picture of how COVID affected them. And so on March 10th (the one day available for Mr. Bruner) I got the chance to sit down and ask him questions related to how the past year and specifically COVID had affected their ability to push out meals for the needy. I led with this question, and he told me that they definitely noticed an uptick in those requiring food starting in March when all the craziness related to the disease began to cause upheaval and chaos globally. Mr. Bruner said that for the better part of the year they were pushing out over 23,000 meals a day across the various branches they have in Indiana. The organization was not without their trials and tribulations, however, as I was told there were periods where Mr. Bruner didn’t know how to ask his employees and volunteers for more assistance as they were already working at the max. He assured me, though, that Hoosier Hills was never at risk of being unable to serve the community. I asked if there were any trends in stories or gripes that the needy told his staff to which he replied that many were upset about the rate in which relief from the government was coming. Many patrons were obviously struggling and complained that the government was spending too much time debating about stimulus checks and that they needed to just send them out as soon as it was possible. Overall the interview with Mr. Bruner I felt offered the best insight into how COVID affected the availability of food for Hoosiers.

INTERVIEW III

The last of my interviews actually took place in person- it was a much appreciated break from the Zoom norm which I have become so accustomed to in the last several months. I was still in my boot, just two days out of foot surgery still in recovery but I needed to get out of the house so I proposed visiting our local hometown food shelter Hunger Inc. to drop off extra canned goods that we had in the house. The organization, which has remained in operation since 1983 serves those in need to local Marion County and Beech Grove residents (hungerinc.org).  Once I hobbled in with my family we dropped off what we had and I asked everyone to wait in the car while I asked the person working there some questions. This was not a formal interview in that I didn’t organize a meeting beforehand, I called ahead before we went to make sure it was ok that I ask questions and explained that I wanted the perspective of someone who worked there and the lucky winner was an employee named Marcus who thankfully had been there since last year (2020) and was willing to answer my questions. Because he wasn’t employed before the pandemic hit, I wasn’t left with many questions and I had to modify what I had. I asked if he had heard any interesting stories from the patrons which visited the shelter and he didn’t have any except for a particular individual which stood out to him. She was a young mother who visited during Marcus’ first few weeks of employment and had just had her fourth child just weeks earlier. He said that the woman’s story resonated with him because he also belonged to a large family that didn’t always have something to eat for dinner- it was part of the reason he sought employment for Hunger Inc. Marcus’ testimony revealed just how interconnected many people’s stories are and how intensely COVID exacerbated situations like these around the world.

SURVEY 

As I mentioned earlier, this project would lack substance if I approached this issue strictly from the perspective of a journalist- after all I am a biologist and I’ve set foot in the media school just a few times. In the scientific community, data and figures speak volumes more than any words I can spew forth. Given this, my approach to gathering data was lacking as I had never conducted my own study or survey before but thanks to Professor Wasserman I was able to get the ball rolling and my survey circulating. The questions were sent out to two of the classes I was enrolled in for this semester and I also printed out the QR code and pinned it on the communal board at Wells Library.  I would have loved to gather more responses but I found out upon compiling the analysis for these figures that the maximum allowed number of respondents to surveys on surveymonkey for free is 40. I think more responses would form a more sound conclusion but alas as scientists we work with what we are given. As for what I could gather:

Figure (A) / Question 1: Not much to uncover here beyond the fact that a majority of those surveyed were / are full time students. This is not very surprising considering that the survey was sent out to higher level classes within the University which tend to be occupied by full-time students.

Figure (B) / Question 2: The proportion of responses actually surprised me here as I thought that way more students were enrolled into some sort of meal plan. I myself have been enrolled in the small package since my freshman year for essentials and snacks with the occasional intermittent meal but I was shocked to learn that I was in the minority for this question. This data also suggests that respondents either pay full price for food on campus or they simply dine-out and about throughout Bloomington. This latter fact would also suggest that many students have some sort of income coming in that would facilitate this manner of consumption. 

Figure (C) / Question 3: Now on to the good and juicy content- as expected, a majority of those surveyed did not have significant issues in acquiring food this past year in the face of COVID. In my discussion section I will elaborate on why I think this is but to put it succinctly here I believe that many students and affiliates of IU are established higher on the economic spectrum than a lot of Americans. While many students require side jobs for income on the side, the fact that students and faculty are a part of Indiana University is a statistically rare thing; from the U.S Census Bureau, “In 2019, high school was the highest level of education completed by 28.1% of the population age 25 and older and 22.5% finished four years of college,” (US Census Bureau 2020). The issue of food scarcity does not apply to a majority of respondents who in some form or another have been afforded economic privilege in their lives and/ or they work their butt off to avoid any form of food scarcity- there were still nearly 40% of respondents who had some difficulty.

Figure (D) / Question 4: The ‘meat’ or juiciest question of the survey revealed trains of thought similar to those found in Figure C. An overwhelming majority of respondents surveyed did not feel as though COVID had affected their ability to acquire food at all. When I was originally formulating these questions I did not expect many responses in the ‘Significant’ and ‘Overwhelming’ category due to enrollment into meal plans but my data proved me otherwise. There is a significant portion of responses that experienced slight disruption in food availability as a result of COVID which is worth discussing in the aptly named section coming up. Fdf df f f f f 

EXTRA INTERVIEW

In lieu of setting up a table and interviewing random strangers on Kirkwood, I wanted to include the testimony from at least one person my age in this exploration as I felt it necessary in combination with the more official interviews I conducted. What friends I do have were either busy, unwilling or their testimony didn’t offer much substance to the conversation. One of my roommates, however, was available and willing to share the hardships his family had experienced this past year. The Faletti family owns a small restaurant in Peoria, Illinois and I was told that not only did their restaurant almost close for good over the summer but the family was forced to consume food they had already ordered for the business since they weren’t allowed to open officially. While not the most significant piece of testimony, it echoes and resembles stories this past year across America and the world.

DISCUSSION

I really enjoyed playing the role of a journalist for this project, and from doing so I’ve discovered that I want to look for a job in the future that utilizes the skills I employed here. When you look at the various stories in conjunction with the statistics revealed in the survey, an interesting narrative begins to take fold. An overwhelming majority of those surveyed were affiliates of Indiana University, living at higher levels of socioeconomic status than a majority of those who utilize local food shelter services. The many shall not outshine the few, though- there are certainly those in higher education programs that face troubles in acquiring food and their hardships don’t go unnoticed; in Figure D there were a significant number of responses that felt COVID disrupted their availability of food. Essentially, COVID has created a vacuum through which any sort of problem that rested below the surface became exacerbated when layoffs and shutdowns began. According to a study by Charles Schwab in 2019 nearly 60% of Americans are a single paycheck away from poverty and many live paycheck to paycheck (Schwab website). If one good thing can be taken from COVID’s iron grip over humans this past year it’s that we need better infrastructure in place for food resources so that we aren’t playing catch up like we did this time. Since our last President’s departure I had strayed away from global and national news sites but my interest was piqued yesterday when I saw the massive problem arising in India. On April 30 the country saw 400,000 new cases and reports coming out reveal that the government was not prepared at all for such a resurgence (worldofmeters). While Americans look optimistically toward the next several weeks the picture is not the same globally and it is important for both citizens and local governments across the world to stay vigilant and follow local government-mandated rules. 

BROADER IMPLICATIONS / LOOKING AHEAD

As many respondents to my survey weren’t enrolled in meal plans but there was still a significant measure of difficulty in acquiring food, one program the University could implement in the future is an official IU-Student Food bank. Such a program, which was referenced in my last post, could be student-run and be an excellent source of fresh food and ingredients for students who are experiencing food scarcity on any level (Thistle). Hooser-branded and located as central to campus as possible, it would do bounds to eliminate stigma surrounding food banks (that they’re only for homeless people etc.) and introduce new and healthy foods to Hoosier students. While we’re all sick and tired of hearing about COVID, the disease has stamped its place in our history whether we like it or not. In order to ensure food is available for all Americans in the face of another global pandemic, we must prepare and improve our infrastructure so that we aren’t playing catch up when it’s already too late. I think a good starting point is the way in which media is handled in our country (which I touched on in my intro section); if we can spread awareness for local food programs through local broadcasting and do so effectively I think we can cut down on a lot of problems Americans faced in these past months. From what I’ve gathered, at least in the Hoosier state, there is definitely a secure safety net for people facing issues like food scarcity- it’s just a matter of making people aware of those programs so that they may be properly utilized. I also think any effort to de-stigmatize the utilization of these programs would do wonders for people; one of the very few good things COVID did was break down barriers in talking about and addressing sensitive issues like food availability- many people who otherwise would turn their nose at a food shelter were forced to grapple with things like rent and food when unemployment was the highest ever in American history (tradingeconomics). It has been an honor to conduct research on and in this lovely town of Bloomington. Get your shot and Go Hoosiers!

 

 

WORKS CITED

“About Us.” Community Kitchen of Monroe County, 13 Jan. 2020, www.monroecommunitykitchen.com/. 

“About Us.” Hunger Inc., www.hungerinc.org/. 

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Bureau, US Census. “U.S. Census Bureau Releases New Educational Attainment Data.” The United States Census Bureau, 30 Mar. 2020, www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2020/educational-attainment.html. 

Burks, Ethan. “Monroe County Mask Mandate And Gathering Size Limits In Effect Until Late May.” News – Indiana Public Media, indianapublicmedia.org/news/monroe-county-mask-mandate-and-gathering-size-limits-in-effect-until-late-may.php. 

Goldstein, Adam, and Diana Enriquez. “COVID-19’s Socioeconomic Impact on Low-Income Benefit Recipients: Early Evidence from Tracking Surveys – Diana Enriquez, Adam Goldstein, 2020.” SAGE Journals, journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2378023120970794. 

“HHFB 2020: A Year Like No Other.” YouTube, YouTube, 23 Feb. 2021, www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iLNThvVw0Y&feature=emb_imp_woyt&ab_channel=DuaneBusick. 

“ India.” Worldometer, www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/india/. 

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Schwab, Charles. “Modern Wealth Survey.” Schwab.com, 19 May 2019, www.schwab.com/. 

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“United States Employment Rate 1948-2021 Data: 2022-2023 Forecast: Historical.” United States Employment Rate | 1948-2021 Data | 2022-2023 Forecast | Historical, tradingeconomics.com/united-states/employment-rate. 

Vazirani, Ashish, and Titas Bhattacharjee. “COVID-19 Lockdowns and a Response Model to Health, Economic and Food Anxiety.” Current Psychology, Springer US, 23 Nov. 2020, link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12144-020-01210-4. 

Watson, Amy. “Cable News Networks: Number of Viewers in the U.S. 2020.” Statista, 8 Feb. 2021, www.statista.com/statistics/409313/cable-news-network-total-day-viewers-usa/. 

Workie, Endashaw, et al. “Deciphering the Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Food Security, Agriculture, and Livelihoods: A Review of the Evidence from Developing Countries.” Current Research in Environmental Sustainability, Elsevier, 12 Oct. 2020, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266604902030027X.