As we continue to explore the ways in which Project by Project can amplify invisible realities in the AAPI community, food insecurity and its impact on our communities highlight how access to healthy, culturally relevant food is more difficult than meets the eye.

Food insecurity is generally defined as “the limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate safe foods” or “limited or uncertain ability to acquire accepted foods in socially acceptable ways.”

We believe that access to affordable, quality food is a basic human right, and yet, in 2023, 44.2 million Americans lived in households that had difficulty getting enough food to feed their families. The cost of living is rising across the world, and billions of people are struggling to find a consistent meal every day. In the US, inflation and rising costs are squeezing budgets across the board, and especially harming low-income families. Food insecurity is not only a matter of addressing hunger but is also intertwined with language assistance, physical health, access to health care, mental health, access to community services, and opportunities for work. Taking action to help provide this basic human right for our communities resonated with our organization, as access to clean food and water is the foundation of living with dignity and fulfillment.


We also want to highlight that the AAPI community is not monolithic, affecting our disparate communities as they face food insecurity issues at different rates and struggle with the problems that stem from it.

In general, our research has concluded that reports on food insecurity statistics within the AAPI community tend to generalize the nuances of our disparate communities as well as outdated data that does not offer greater granularity. For example, a 2018 California study focused on six Asian American subgroups in CA facing insecurity with 16% of Vietnamese Americans experiencing food insecurity compared to 10% of the general population. In San Francisco, 62% of San Francisco Marin Food Bank’s participants are Asian, many of whom are seniors. 35% Bhutanese and 25% Burmese Americans in New York live in poverty and have trouble accessing resources. Our communities and friends are quietly struggling, and Project by Project wants to help.

We will use 2024 to explore a myriad of issues that create barriers for our communities from accessing consistent, high quality meals. Project by Project and its local chapters will focus on specific issue areas causing these inequities in our society, such as the following (but not limited to):

How might we help organizations like food banks keep up with demand?

How does the ever-rising cost of living affect communities of color and their access to resources?

Who within our disparate communities are impacted the most? And what emerging or potential solutions can be applied to help those in need?

Ultimately, we know that this is a systemic issue, and other communities outside the AAPI identity are impacted as well. In 2021, 57% of Hispanic or Latinos, nearly 40% of African Americans, 22% Asians, and 20% Caucasians were impacted with food insecurity in Alameda County in the Bay Area, and these statistics are reflected across the board in other parts of the US. We will take the opportunity to learn more about all of our communities, and understand how we can make a positive impact on the lives of those around us. We look forward to partnering with local organizations, volunteering, and helping those access this basic human right and living a life of dignity.