Meet Camden’s Witnesses to Hunger: Photographing Hope Amid Desolation

This week, a photo exhibit at the headquarters of the Campbell Soup Company marked the debut of the Camden, N.J. site of Drexel’s “Witnesses to Hunger” program.

Photos from 10 low-income Camden women were on display to raise issues and challenges associated with food insecurity, as experienced by those who have lived with them. “Witnesses to Hunger,” a community-based participatory research and advocacy project was developed in Drexel’s School of Public Health in Philadelphia in 2008, and previously expanded to Boston and Baltimore last year. More background information about “Witnesses” and the Camden debut are available in the press release.

Here is a closer look at some of the Camden Witnesses, with their photos. (For photos presented in mini galleries, click through to view larger with full “voice” captions from the Witness, transcribed from interviews.) The Witnesses highlighted here have expressed willingness to be interviewed for news stories about their experiences with food insecurity, poverty and related issues, and about their participation in the project.

The Fridge When It’s Empty; I Would Change the Abandoned Buildings

Christie I. is a young mother of a four-year-old girl. She works nearly full time at a fast food restaurant, but doesn’t earn enough to support herself and her daughter. She is passionate about improving Camden and believes there needs to be more of an effort to fix up abandoned buildings and create housing for people with low incomes. To make a change, she says, “I need the voices from out in the world to help me make this possible.”

Christie on housing in Camden, and making it to the end of the month when food starts to run out:

That’s the fridge when it’s empty. That’s at the ending of the month, when it was a little empty, but we didn’t have to go to a church to get food or anything like that. Like we weren’t at the point of starving. – Photo and Voice by Christie, Camden

Housing in Camden is the worst, because it’s hard to afford it when you receive such a little amount of money from welfare, and if you work they cut half of the benefits. I would change all of the abandoned buildings and transform them to low-incomes apartments for those families that can’t afford any apartments and that are receiving welfare assistance. – Photo and Voice by Christie, Camden

The [Affordable Housing] Search Continues

Kathy is a mother of two children, a five-year-old and an infant, and she recently moved into an apartment after having lived in a shelter for several months. She moved into the shelter after a fire destroyed the home she was living in, and she is now eager to give her children the stability they haven’t had. She joined Witnesses to Hunger because she experienced hunger as a child and wants to ensure that her children, and other families, do not have to struggle like she did.

Kathy on the struggle for affordable housing:

Life in Tent City; Oodles of Noodles

Tanya is the mother of five adult children and grandmother of four. She had been living in Cape May County for the last several years, but recently moved to Camden to be closer to her children and grandchildren. As someone who has lived on a tight budget for several years, she frequents food pantries and works to stretch the household’s food to make sure the children have enough. She worries about the violence in Camden, and the number of people who are struggling with addiction and homelessness in the city. She would like to see more recovery centers and homeless shelters in Camden.

Tanya on making food stretch, and on hope for homelessness:

I think tent city shows hope for homeless people, because you don’t have to sleep on the sidewalk and you don’t have to sleep on the curb. You don’t have to be outside cold and freezing. And a lot of homeless people work together. – Photo and Voice by Tanya, Camden

Oodles of Noodles, essential. At the end of the month, there’s always Oodles of Noodles. If there’s nothing else, you’ve got the noodles. We think like that. Okay, we’re probably not going to have a lot, so we might have to do Oodles of Noodles a couple of days. – Photo and Voice by Tanya, Camden

Getting them Off the Streets; I’m Trying; Violence is Everywhere

Anisa D. is a resident of the Fairview neighborhood of Camden, and is the mother of four children and grandmother of a 3 year-old. She is helping to raise her grandson while her daughter works two jobs, and is also supporting her oldest son, a full-time college student. A long-time resident of Camden, she joined Witnesses to Hunger because she wants to support and encourage other parents who are struggling to raise their children on a limited income.

Anisa on violence, keeping kids off the streets and in school, in Camden:

Right now I’m a single parent and I’m trying. I’m telling you, it’s hard. I’m just going to have to keep up the good work and just keep on trying and just keep them in school. – Photo and Voice by Anisa, Camden

All you can do is pray and try and keep them off these streets because out here there is just so much going on right now. Just like we had a shooting the other day and they locked the school down. There are guns and stuff everywhere but now I think it’s getting bad because there are more drugs going on around here now. My son, my nineteen year-old, has already been caught in like two shootouts. – Photo and Voice by Anisa, Camden

Out here, there’s no boys and girls club. There’s nothing for the kids to do, nothing. There are no recreation centers for the boys to go to and stay off the streets. At least they could be able to go to a gym or something like that and play basketball, but there is nothing out here. I send my kids to football outside of the city because it gets them off the streets. – Photo and Voice by Anisa, Camden

Little By Little

Tiffany J. is a proud mother of seven, college graduate and lifelong resident of Camden, New Jersey. She has seen Camden at its best and at its worst and she is very troubled by the violence. She feels something must be done to make Camden streets better. She joined the Witnesses to Hunger Program so she could share her story ideas for how to make the city better.

Tiffany J. on making too much money for food stamps, but not enough to afford good food:

Camden’s Future

Beatrize C. is a working mother with one young son. She is a part of Witnesses to Hunger because she feels that people need to know the positive aspects of Camden and that people need encouragement to make a positive change in their community. She is a proud life-long resident of Camden, and plans to return to college this fall to get a degree in surgical technology.

Beatrize on raising kids well in Camden:

Note to news media: To interview any of the Witnesses to Hunger featured above, or to interview Dr. Mariana Chilton about the Witnesses to Hunger program and research on hunger and poverty, please contact Rachel Ewing in the Drexel University Office of University Communications at raewing@drexel.edu, 215-895-2614. In addition to the Witnesses profiled above, Witness Tiffany F. is also willing to participate in interviews with the news media but opted not to have her bio posted online.