The Painful Truth about Hunger in America: Why We Must Unlearn Everything We Think We Know—and Start Again

by Mariana Chilton

A radical and urgent new approach to how we can solve the problems of hunger and poverty in the US.Most people think hunger has to do with researchers, policy makers, and advocates focus on promoting government-funded nutrition assistance; well-meaning organizations try to get expired or wasted food to marginalized communities; and, philanthropists donate their money to the cause and congratulate themselves for doing so. But few people ask about the structural issues undergirding hunger, such as, who benefits from keeping people in such a state of precarity? In The Truth about Hunger, Mariana Chilton shows that the solution to food insecurity lies far beyond food and must incorporate personal, political, and spiritual approaches if we are serious about fixing the crisis.Drawing on 25 years of research, programming, and advocacy efforts, Chilton powerfully demonstrates that food insecurity is created and maintained by people in power. Taking the reader back to the original wounds in the United States caused by its history of colonization, genocide, and enslavement, she forces us to reckon with hard questions about why people in the US allow hunger to persist. Drawing upon intimate interviews she conducted with many Black and brown women, the author reveals that the experience of hunger is rooted in trauma and gender-based violence—violence in our relationships with one another, with the natural world, and with ourselves—and that, if we want to fix hunger, we must transform our society through compassion, love, and connection. Especially relevant for young people charting new paths toward abolition, mutual aid, and meaningful livelihoods, The Truth about Hunger reinvigorates our commitment to uprooting the causes of poverty and discrimination, and points to a more generative and humane world where everyone can be nourished.

Genres: Nonfiction, Food, Politics

392 pages, Hardcover

Published October 1, 2024

Reviews

[Leah Good · Rating 3 out of 5]

Writing this in November 2025, the ongoing government shutdown's impact on SNAP made me curious to learn more about the reach and efficacy of SNAP. This book came up in a quick search, so I checked the audiobook out from the library.

As a conservative leaning moderate, a lot of the tone and preconceptions of this book leaned uncomfortably far "left" for me, but the underlying research, statistics, and personal stories were informative nevertheless.

Some key takeaways for me:
- Even the most "effective" programs we have aren't really effective - food assistance as a whole is a crude bandage that doesn't fix the problem
- Community is important. It's more effective and sustainable to lean on people than governments.
- It's important to listen to people actually impacted by food insecurity
- Well meaning efforts at all levels (personal, organizational, and governmental) can do more harm than good when the root of the problem is unidentified and unaddressed.

[Judi · Rating 4 out of 5]

America’s systems: utterly frustrating and unbelievably infuriating.

[Kayleigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really compelling look at food access in the US. The book contained stories of stigma and fear in accessing support systems available to them- I was struck particularly with the issues with TANF and how many people are afraid of accepting jobs with too many hours or making too much because it would immediately rescind their supports through housing or childcare. I think we can all agree that we need to be doing better.

[Linda Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

We used this as a superb Sunday school study at a UMC. It was a very educational book for me. I felt that I did not really know much before I started this about the root causes of US hunger. I learned so much; the author’s research, personal study, deep interviews with the poor over time; and the effects of hunger have deeply affected me. This week do was truly the author’s deep passion and a work of love for her. The only drawback that I saw was in her last 4 chapters of recommendations- she needed to elaborate more on those recommendations and recognize the downsides of the recommendations and how they would be implemented. Otherwise, this book was a 5. Recommend it very highly for everyone.

[Lizard · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is impossible for me to adequately praise this book at the level it deserves. It was exactly what I needed, articulated so beautifully and clearly a labor of inspired love and passion. It has inspired and motivated me. It has helped me connect societal dots and empowers me to have difficult conversations. It has motivated me to speak up. I am so grateful.

[TinaRae · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great conversations about systemic poverty, cultural differences, and the impact of our systems on women and persons of color.
This book will get you riled up and hopefully energized to go make a difference, no matter the size.
However, it doesn't offer up the solutions. Those are left to you and your counterparts to work out. Read, learn, grow and then....
Go, make a difference!

[Markell · Rating 4 out of 5]

a good overview of the depths of causes of hunger and the trauma it causes people. I would have liked to see more steps for action from her perspective.