Posts

food bank

US Food Insecurity Is Causing Citizens To Go More Hungry Than They Did During The Pandemic 

/in , /by

A survey released this week by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York revealed that more people in the United States are going hungry now than during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The survey showed that there are higher levels of food insecurity this year than there was during the summer of 2020, when the coronavirus outbreak led to “double-digit unemployment,” according to reports from NPR. 

Embed from Getty Images

The New York Fed periodically asks Americans about whether they have to skip meals, rely on food donations, or receive federal assistance in order to buy groceries. The most recent survey was taken in February, and showed how hunger is a more intense problem now than any other time within the past six years. 

Amy Breitmann runs the Golden Harvest Food Bank in Augusta, Georgia. She recently told NPR how she’s witnessed first-hand the increasing number of families and children that are in need of food this year. 

“We have some distributions where people are sitting in a 2-to-3-mile line the night before the [food] distribution starts. They’re sleeping in their cars.”

The February survey from the New York Fed found that nationwide, 10% of families reported missing meals or having a lack of food in their household. About 16% of respondents relied on food donations. Families that are earning less than $50,000 annually are experiencing food insecurity twice as high as the last report. Nearly 20% of families have been forced to skip meals or went completely without food. 

CEO of the Community Food Bank of Central Alabama, Nicole Williams, also told the publication that they have to move their services to a larger building in order to accommodate the increased demand for food. The food bank serves 12 counties throughout the state. 

“Food insecurity could be your next-door neighbor. When gas costs a little bit more or food costs a little bit more, or they have a repair on their car or a medical bill, that takes away what they might be using to spend on food.”

Experts have been stating that what’s occurring is a part of a “K-shaped economy,” which represents a growing divide between individuals who have proper access to their basic needs and those who don’t. 

Embed from Getty Images

The New York Fed recently wrote that “while many households are doing fine and economic activity overall has been expanding at a solid pace, large segments of the population are facing high levels of economic insecurity and financial strain, and consumer sentiment on the whole has dropped to low levels.”

In 2020, just 4% of households reported missing meals, which also included less than 7% of families that earn less than $50,000 annually. 

During the pandemic, families experienced some relief from their food insecurity thanks to government relief payments and supplemental unemployment benefits. Those same benefits, however, were pandemic-specific and are no longer available. Additionally, within the past six years food prices have increased rapidly. 

The most recent survey from the New York Fed was also conducted before the US war with Iran, which has caused gas prices to increase and the economy to strain further. 

Breitmann posed the question: “If you’re adding on another $100 to your budget a month just to put gas in your car to get to work or drop your kids at school and whatever they need their car for, where is that $100 coming from?”

“Most typically, they’re having to pull it from the grocery budget,” Breitmann said.

The survey also found that there is a growing number of Americans that are relying on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. This is surprising due to the fact that eligibility for the program has become even more strict as of late. 

About 18% of families this year had received SNAP benefits, compared to 10.6% in 2020. Lower-income families had over 38% receiving SNAP benefits, compared to around 22% in 2020. 

Food Bank

Food Banks Struggle To Feed The Hungry As Prices Rise

/in , /by

For food banks, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to be a hard-hitting obstacle that threatens the well-being of families across the countries. Now, there are more hills to climb in the forms of rising food prices and supply chain issues that could cause massive havoc as the always-busy holiday season approaches.

As the Associated Press notes, the surging costs and the subsequent scarcity could equate to families in need receiving smaller portions or substitutes for favorite foods. Some food banks even worry they won’t be able to provide classic servings such as cranberry sauce or stuffing for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Embed from Getty Images

Speaking to the AP, Feeding America chief operating officer Katie Fitzgerald explained that while food distribution numbers have seen a decrease, they’re still at almost 55% over the totals from the pre-pandemic times, and that an increase in food insecurity is still very possible “if too many shoes drop.”

The 200 food banks that work with Feeding America — which distributes around 4.3 billion meals per year — saw a 31% increase in the amount of food distributed in the first quarter of 2021 when compared to the first quarter of 2020. Many of the food banks expanded due to the increased demand.

During the first year of COVID, food distribution continually rose as many who had never required a food bank before suddenly needed assistance. 1.1 billion pounds of food were shipped off in the first quarter of 2020, which rose to 1.6 billion in the second quarter, a 42% increase. The third quarter had a slight increase of 5%, and distributions began to decline at the end of 2020.

The surging transportation costs are to blame for donated food being more expensive. Meanwhile, labor shortages and backlogs at factories and ports are heavily contributing to the lack of availability when it comes to food and supplies.

Embed from Getty Images

According to AP, the Alameda County Community Food Bank in California is now spending an extra $60,000 a month on food, while also spending $1 million a month in order to distribute 4.5 million pounds of food. The costs of various types of servings are up anywhere from 6% to 17%.

In addition to food banks, government food assistance programs such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) — also known as food stamps — saw increased usage by hungry families as well. SNAP users bumped up by 7 million from 2019 to 2021, which brought the total amount to 42 million. The program also had a benefits increase of 25% in October, which means the average monthly per-person benefits rose from $121 to $157.

It’s not just the absence of food supplies and costs that are interfering with food bank operations, however – the lack of volunteers is also an alarming factor. In San Francisco, one food bank only has seven to 10 volunteers working a shift despite needing to serve over 50,000 families per week. The number of volunteers down from 30-80 volunteers pre-pandemic.

According to the San Francisco Examiner, one reason for the absence of volunteers is the uprise in remote work. Companies are opting not to send employees in to assist anymore on paid-volunteering days, which has left pantries scrambling to rework their inner organizations.