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

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. 

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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. 

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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.