What is Food Insecurity? | Pediatric Health Care Alliance P.A.

May 23rd 2024

PHCA strongly believes in advancing the health of our patients and their families, which involves more than providing excellent medical care. We're also here to share support, encouragement, resources, and education.

Please see below for additional information, including several local resources in the Tampa Bay area that can help families alleviate hunger.

What is Food Insecurity?

Currently, 1 in 9 people in the United States struggle with hunger and food insecurity.

The USDA describes food insecurity as the "lack of access, at times, to enough food for an active, healthy lifestyle for all members of a given household, and limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate foods".

Working families across America can face an unexpected event that may plunge a household into food insecurity. Layoffs at work, unexpected car maintenance, or emergency medical procedures are just some catalysts that can cause everyday people to go hungry.

Learn More:

Connections Between Food Insecurity and Health

WIC (Women, Infants & Children)

What is WIC?

WIC is a federally-funded nutrition program for Women, Infants, and Children and provides the following at no cost: Healthy Foods Nutrition Education and Counseling Breastfeeding Support Referrals for Health Care How to qualify for WIC WIC is available to pregnant, breastfeeding, and postpartum women; infants, and children under 5 years of age. Fathers are welcomed to bring their children to apply for WIC. Legal guardians and/or foster parents of children under the age of 5 may apply on behalf of their child.

To be eligible for WIC, a family's gross income must not exceed those in the WIC Income Guidelines. You are income-eligible for WIC if you are currently receiving Medicaid, Temporary Cash Assistance (TCA), or Food Assistance.

Use the tool below to see if you might be eligible for WIC:

WIC Prescreening Tool

WIC Locations by County

Hillsborough County WIC Locations

To schedule an appointment, call (813) 307-8074

Pinellas County WIC Locations

To schedule an appointment, call (727) 824-6913

Pasco County WIC Locations

To schedule an appointment, call 1-877-942-2329

Food Banks & Food Pantries

A food bank is a non-profit that collects, stores and distributes food to hunger-relief charities, while a food pantry is a community distribution center where hungry families can go to directly receive food.

All communities across America have families that face food insecurity. Federal nutrition programs don't reach all families in need, so our local food banks and food pantries are here to help fill the gap.

Finding Food Assistance

Numerous organizations across Tampa Bay are helping food insecure families through food pantries, soup kitchens and more.

To find food assistance locally, use the search tool below:

Search for Local Food Pantries

Feeding Tampa Bay serves the greater Tampa Bay area and offers numerous resources to bring food to hungry families.

Available programs include a mobile pantry, mobile market, and Trinity Cafe, a full-service restaurant that serves healthy, hot meals daily, free of charge.

View their visit schedule and learn more about Feeding Tampa Bay below:

Feeding Tampa Bay - Food Assistance Programs