Today, we are closer than ever to ending food insecurity on a global and local scale, said hunger-relief leaders at the annual Iowa Hunger Summit recently in Des Moines.

Yet it will take a continued push to provide food to our most vulnerable populations, including children, seniors and families struggling to meet their basic needs and medical costs.

“I fundamentally believe that there is an answer to the question, ‘Can there be a future without hunger?’ The answer is absolutely there can (be) … We can do it together,” said Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, chief executive officer of Feeding America, the largest network of food banks in the United States.

More than 500 hunger fighters from across the state gathered at the Iowa...