Brunch Update – September 2025 – House of Sufism

Sufi Service Committee (Boston) – Issue 195

Addressing the most pressing needs of our commUNITY

“…you and I are basically from the same source, the same reality, the same truth….”

– Dr. Alireza Nurbakhsh, Founder of Sufi Service Committee

The Costs of Hunger (Segment Two)

This study seeks to understand and quantify the broader societal impacts of food insecurity.

“Wages are just not meeting basic monthly expenses. Prices just keep rising. Nothing is within reach anymore.” — Retired senior white woman, SNAP, and food pantry participant, Bristol County

Over the past three years, households experiencing food insecurity in Massachusetts had to choose between paying for food and paying for other necessities each year, as shown in Figure 6. When food and other necessities are scarce, families often must make sacrifices to meet their needs.

College Tuition Trade-Offs

State investments in 2023 and 2024 removed community college tuition costs for students seeking higher education and may have contributed to the decline in food-insecure households that were making trade-offs between paying for food and paying for tuition during those two years. Alongside these efforts, the Hunger Free Campus Initiative, a statewide coalition led by GBFB, allows students to focus on their education rather than worrying about where their next meal will come from. Source: MassReconnect and MassEducate, https://www.mass.edu/osfa/programs/masseducate.asp

Loss of Productivity

Adults: Fifty-one percent of adults in food-insecure households, compared with only 7 percent of adults in food-secure households, reported missing work, medical, and other meetings and appointments due to lack of transportation.

Children: Children in food-insecure households reported an average of six days per month of poor physical or mental health keeping them from doing the activities (other than school) that other kids their age do, compared with an average of only two days per month among children living in food-secure households. Parents reported this data for the child in their household whose health is most concerning to them, or for the oldest child.

“Inflation has really hit the world hard and it’s just getting worse. It’s getting harder and harder for me to find work, so affording things is getting more difficult, and with inflation I’m worried about what the next couple years will look like for my family.” – Hispanic mother and student, WIC participant, Hampden County

Health Cost of Food Insecurity

Food insecurity has a profound impact on health: limiting access to nutritious food, increasing stress, and creating competing financial needs that limit access to, and affordability of, medical care. Health care conditions can also increase financial strain and lead to food insecurity. While food insecurity does not cause chronic conditions, it can exacerbate them, diminish quality of life, and cause higher health care use and costs.

Chronic Health Care Conditions

In 2024, 67 percent of adults living in food-insecure households reported having at least one chronic health condition, compared to 60 percent of food-secure adults. Among children, the disparity was even greater: 51 percent of children living in food-insecure households had a chronic illness, versus 42 percent in food-secure households. Common conditions among adults included mental health disorders (35 percent vs. 19 percent), physical disabilities (15 percent vs. 6 percent), and dental disease (14 percent vs. 6 percent). Children living in food-insecure households reported higher rates of asthma, autism, and developmental delays, among other conditions.

1. The Greater Boston FOOD BANK

2. Mass General Brigham

3. Source: https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food- nutrition-assistance/food-security-in-the-us/ definitions-of-food-security

4. Editing by Dr. Laura Ferrer and Mo Noor.

This research consists of two parts. In July 2025, we published the first segment. This month, we are presenting you with the second segment. If you wish to receive the complete version, please let me know. I would also love to hear your feedback on the content. Thank you. Mr. Noor

How to Direct Your Kindness

1. In-person service: Our core volunteers and happy new faces sort, organize, fold clothes, or prepare meals for homeless children, women, and men. This is a cheerful collaboration of friends over the joy of service. The friendly events are held on Saturdays (8:50 am to 12:30 pm.) at Noor Oriental Rugs, 769 Concord Avenue in Cambridge, MA.

2. Making deliveries

3. At-home meal preparation

4. Donation: We are funded by YOU! You can share the power of your generosity by contributing money on a one-time or a sustaining basis.