Hungry for the holidays: Food insecurity spikes in America even as inflation rate slows
While the rate of inflation has slowed, food and housing costs remain high, and it is likely to take many more months, if not years, for households to regain financial stability.
Six days a week, the Above & Beyond Food Pantry in Chicago’s West Garfield Park neighborhood opens its doors to community members who need extra help.
Its food distributions consistently serve more than 100 guests a day. Household members – many with children – leave with bags and carts filled with fresh produce and groceries, grateful for everything they receive.
This scene is repeated daily in neighborhoods across Chicago and throughout the United States as hunger persists across the country.
On a recent visit to his local food pantry, single dad Brian Carroll hoped to pick up something festive to serve his two children, ages 11 and 15, for the holidays. The trio do their best to get by on Carroll’s fixed income.
“I’m not working right now as I’m dealing with some mental health issues," Carroll said, holding up a bag of groceries from Above & Beyond. "Food stamps run out on the 9th (of every month), but there’s still more month left. Stuff like this helps.”
Hunger is on the rise across the United States
Food insecurity and the need for food remains elevated nationwide. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Household Food Security Report released in October, 1 in 8 U.S. households (17 million households) experienced food insecurity last year, significantly higher than the 10.2% recorded in 2021 (13.5 million households).
The last time it was this high was in 2015, as families were slowly recovering from the Great Recession.
The reality is even more severe for households with children: Food insecurity jumped from 12.5% in 2021 to 17.3% last year.
Scarlett Johansson:We support families battling food insecurity
Black and Hispanic households are much more likely to face food insecurity than white (non-Hispanic) households, with 22.4% of Black households and 20.8% of Hispanic households experiencing food insecurity compared with 9.3% of white households.
As a result, more and more families are turning to food pantries like Above & Beyond for the first time. The pantry recently added Saturday to its schedule of food distributions to meet the increase in demand.
In Chicago, we are seeing this across the board. The Greater Chicago Food Depository’s network of partner food pantries served 28% more guests in October than the same month last year – a stark reminder that hunger didn’t subside with the pandemic.
The increase in pantry visits is due to the lingering effects of a global health crisis, inflation, elevated food prices and the rollback of crucial pandemic-era public assistance such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps.
While the rate of inflation has slowed, food and housing costs remain high, and it is likely to take many more months, if not years, for households to regain financial stability after the recent mounting challenges of late.
Expanded SNAP benefits would reduce hunger
The solution to hunger is in front of us. Data has shown that the safety net works. Expanded SNAP benefits and pandemic electronic benefits transfer lifted millions of families out of food insecurity during 2020 and 2021.
This is why it's imperative that Congress and the White House invest in federal nutrition programs, especially SNAP and Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children – not reduce them as some proposals are suggesting.
The time to protect and strengthen SNAP is in the new year when Congress resumes farm bill discussions. These programs play an essential role in protecting Americans from hunger.
Pass a fully funded farm bill:We can agree that no one in this country should go hungry. Can that help unite us?
The Greater Chicago Food Depository is a proud member of Feeding America, the national network of food banks, food pantries and community-based organizations working to create a hunger-free community. However, food relief organizations cannot end hunger alone. It will take commitment and action from all fronts.
Food insecurity exists year-round, not just during the holidays. The holiday season is such a special time of the year – a time when most of us gather with family and friends to enjoy a celebratory meal. Everyone deserves that opportunity, although not everyone can.
Charmaine J visits the soup kitchen hosted by the Seeds Center of Maple Park in the south suburbs of Chicago for a warm nutritious meal whenever she can. She fell on hard times last year and lost her home despite working full time. She’s trying her best to save enough for a security deposit for a new place to live, but it’s hard when she’s also trying to support her two adult sons with disabilities.
“I sit at work every day and people don’t know I don’t have a home. A lot of people are suffering, and people don’t know,” Charmaine said. “When I come here, I’m hungry. Where I stay is not a home. I don’t have a stove. This helps. This place means everything to me.”
Kate Maehr is executive director and CEO of the Greater Chicago Food Depository and a board member of Feeding America.