In March of 2021, Voices of Hunger WV hosted their very first live Zoom call on their Facebook page. This body was assembled in an effort to allow folks with lived experiences of hunger to not only come and share their stories, but to also learn ways to gather together and create change in government through their storytelling. Some of the testimony shared that evening is written here.

The following is a poem told by Heidi Gum in May 2021 during her time as a Geography master’s student at West Virginia University.

“I get $200 a month to feed us all because remember, I got that low paying job and he gets a small amount of unemployment. Suddenly, with our gross income, we are no longer available for Medicaid and only a menial amount of food stamps. Our GROSS income. Not even what we actually bring home after the government takes their cut.”

“I had so much time on my hands, and I knew that I was going to go back to drinking and doing drugs if I had so much time on my hands. So, I started volunteering at the food pantry. That changed my life.”

“…the governor said we no longer need [additional assistance] effective January 1st. No. We still need that. There are still people who are suffering. It doesn’t matter if it’s an ‘emergency’ or not.”

“[Right to food is] rights to healthy food. It is access to good, fresh produce and good meats. That’s not the case in some of these poor, small towns that only have, like, a Dollar General. The right to food is access to good food, not just food. Good food.”