Overview

While national, state and local efforts have significantly reduced hunger over time, many remain siloed—highlighting the need for coordinated, coalition-based solutions.

In fact, rates of food insecurity haven’t dropped much in recent decades—and in some instances have increased, due to rising living and healthcare costs, income inequality, barriers to accessing assistance programs, and major disruptions like COVID-19. Nationwide, food insecurity remains stuck at or above 10% in most communities. Research shows that product and monetary donations alone won’t solve hunger.

In 2022, Hormel Foods convened a diverse group of organizations—including businesses, schools and government as well as local and regional nonprofits—to better understand food insecurity in its hometown. 

The result was the start of a coalition known as the Hometown Food Security Project.

Just as each individual in need represents a unique experience, every community has different food security challenges, requiring different approaches and solutions. This playbook includes tools, insights and resources that have emerged from the Hometown Food Security Project’s continuing work. We share this playbook to support other communities and organizations to learn from the work in our hometown, and ultimately, to learn from each other with the aim of reducing hunger everywhere.