Hunger and Food Insecurity: We’re Number 24
The US Department of Agriculture states that about 56 percent of food insecure persons have participated in one or more of the federal government’s nutritional programs—SNAP (food stamps); special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), or the National School Lunch Program. Still, for many, this was not enough.
Whatever the cause—lay-offs from work, unexpected bills, marital discord, accidents and doctor bills—many Americans have to weigh the terrible decision of feeding their families or paying their bills. The lengthy pandemic unscored the uncertain circumstances facing many workers and communities. Food insecurity is certainly not confined to families with children. In fact, the biggest increase in food insecurity from 2020 to 2021 came from elderly women living alone.
In the federal bipartisan budget agreement in 2022, funds were set aside to feed hungry children during the summer break from school. It was anticipated that this $2.5 billion program would serve 21 million students, coming from families whose income was below the poverty level. The US Department of Agriculture called the summer nutrition program a “giant step forward” in meeting the needs of families when school is not in session. Yet, when the deadline for accepting the program came in January 2024, Republican governors in fifteen states rejected the funds, impacting an estimated 8 million children. “I don’t believe in welfare,” said Nebraska governor Jim Pillen. Iowa governor Kim Reynolds said she saw no need in adding this federal benefit to food-insecure children “when childhood obesity has become an epidemic.”
Along with Iowa and Nebraska, the other states declining to participate were Alabama, Alaska, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Vermont, and Wyoming. The three states with the highest level of food insecurity (Mississippi, Alabama, and Texas) refused these new funds. In addition, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and Wyoming were among the seven states that did not fully extend Medicaid coverage to low-income individuals.
The United States has miles to go, when compared with other OECD countries: the US ranked 24th, with 8.8 percent of its population experiencing moderate to severe food insecurity, far behind countries like the United Kingdom (3.5 percent), Germany (3.5 percent), and Japan (3.8 percent).
Sources: Alisha Coleman-Jensen, Matthew P. Rabbitt, Christian A. Gregory, and Anita Singh, “Household Food Security in 2021,” Economic Research Service, US Department of Agriculture, September 2022, https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/104656/err-309_summary.pdf?v=1779.1; Annie Gowan, “Republican Governors in 15 States Reject Summer Food Money for Kids,” Washington Post, January 10, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/01/10/republican-governors-summer-lunch-program/; “Status of State Medicaid Expansion Decisions,” KFF, December 1, 2023, https://www.kff.org/medicaid/issue-brief/status-of-state-medicaid-expansion-decisions-interactive-map/; “Prevalence of Moderate to Severe Food Insecurity in the Population-OECD Countries,” The World Bank, https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SN.ITK.MSFI.ZS?end=2020&locations=OE&most_recent_value_desc=false&start=2017
