Hunger In Boulder County: Kids, Minorities Suffered Most In 2020

BOULDER COUNTY, CO — At the start of the pandemic, hunger relief organization Feeding America estimated as many as 54 million Americans, including many in Boulder County, might experience food insecurity in 2020.

While the pandemic did have a profound impact on whether a mother in Boulder skipped a meal or a child in Longmont went to bed hungry, a new study by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service shows the country’s overall food insecurity rate remained the same in 2020 compared to 2019.

The news, however, isn’t as positive as it seems. Not only did tens of millions still go hungry, but the study also found not all families fared as well as others.

Approximately 10.5 percent of Americans were considered food insecure in 2020, according to the study, a rate that was unchanged from 2019. That equates to about 13.8 million people.

While the study didn’t research the effects that federal aid had on food insecurity, U.S. Census Bureau data shows that stimulus payments and other aid lifted more than 11 million Americans out of poverty in 2020.

Like what you're reading? Invite a friend to subscribe to free Boulder newsletters and real-time email alerts.

The study also suggests that the percentage of food insecure households likely remained steady due to a number of changes and additions to federal nutrition assistance programs and unemployment benefits, as well as stimulus payments and moratoriums on evictions. Each change expanded the social safety net to financially help Americans through the pandemic.

Still, a closer look at the data shows disparities. While the number of white families facing hunger actually declined last year, food insecurity surged in Black and Hispanic families as well as families with children.

Hunger In Colorado

Before the pandemic, national food insecurity levels were at a 20-year low, according to data compiled by Feeding America, one of the largest hunger relief organizations in the United States. Despite the milestone, 35 million people — including more than 10 million children — still lived in food-insecure households.

In 2019, approximately 9.8 percent of Coloradans — or 566,440 — were considered food insecure, according to Feeding America data. About 29,610 of those people lived in Boulder County.

Once the pandemic hit, Feeding America estimated that as many as 38,164 people could go hungry in Boulder County in 2020.

While the USDA did not release county-level data, it did look at how many people in Colorado had low food security or very low food security at any point in 2020.

To collect the data, the USDA conducted a supplemental survey as part of the U.S. Census Bureau’s December 2020 population survey. More than 34,300 U.S. households responded to the supplemental survey.

The survey asked each household about experiences and behaviors that may have indicated food insecurity during 2020, such as being unable to afford balanced meals, cutting the size of meals, or being hungry because of too little money for food.

To determine the total percentage of food-insecure residents in Colorado, the USDA also analyzed data from a three-year period ending in 2020 in order to generate a larger sample size and draw a more precise conclusion. It did the same for a three-year period ending in 2017. The agency then compared the 2020 rate in every state to the 2017 rate to see if food insecurity increased or decreased.

Through its research, the USDA found that 2,356,000 households in Colorado — about 10.1 percent — struggled with food insecurity in 2020, according to the study. Among those, 1.08 percent indicated they had very low food security.

The percentage of food-insecure households actually increased from the previous period, when 9.2 percent of households reported being food insecure.

Who Suffered Most

Approximately 7.6 percent of U.S. children were food insecure at some point in 2020, according to the study, an increase from 6.5 percent in 2019. Meanwhile, food insecurity also increased for all households with children, jumping from 13.6 percent in 2019 to 14.8 percent in 2020.

While children are usually shielded from the worst effects of food insecurity, the pandemic made it more difficult as schools closed and millions of kids lost access to free and reduced-price meals at school.

Food insecurity in several groups, including among Black and Hispanic families, also ended up well above the national average of 10.5 percent:

• All households with children (14.8 percent).
• Households with children under age 6 (15.3 percent).
• Households with children headed by a single woman (27.7 percent) or a single man (16.3 percent).
• Households with Black, non-Hispanic survey respondents (21.7 percent).
• Households with Hispanic survey respondents (17.2 percent).
• Households with incomes below 185 percent of the poverty threshold (28.6 percent).

Meanwhile, food insecurity in the following groups remained well below the national average of 10.5 percent:

• Married couple families with children (9.5 percent).
• Households with no children (8.8 percent), especially those with more than one adult and no children (7.1 percent).
• Households with elderly persons (6.9 percent).
• An elderly person living alone (8.3 percent).
• Households with white, non-Hispanic survey respondents (7.1 percent).
• Those with incomes at or above 185 percent of poverty (4.9 percent).

Regionally, the prevalence of food insecurity in the Northeast (9.3 percent), Midwest (9.5 percent), and West (9.5) was significantly below the U.S. average, while the prevalence in the South (12.3 percent) was significantly above the U.S. average.

How To Help

Food pantries and food banks have experienced a 55 percent spike in usage through the pandemic, according to the latest Feeding America data, helping millions of people put food on the table when times were tough and money was short.

Donating to a food pantry is simple. Food pantries accept any food that is “shelf-stable” or nonperishable — this means you can keep it in your pantry and it won’t go bad. It’s also a good rule of thumb to only donate food that hasn’t reached its “sell-by” date yet.

See a list of what to donate to food pantries and what to avoid.

Here are the nearest food pantries in Boulder County:

• Boulder Food Rescue
• Harvest of Hope Pantry
• Community Food Share
• Sister Carmen Community Center Food Bank
• Food Bank of the Rockies
• St. John the Baptist Food Bank
• Emergency Family Assistance Association
• North Denver Cares Food Pantry

Feeding America serves 200 member food banks that serve and supply 60,000 food pantries, kitchens and meal programs around the country.

FIND FOOD
Find your local food bank

DONATE
Make a donation to Feeding America*

READ
"The Impact of Coronavirus On Food Insecurity"

ACT
Take action against hunger

Patch has partnered with Feeding America to help raise awareness on behalf of the millions of Americans facing hunger. Feeding America, which supports 200 food banks across the country, estimates that in 2021, more than 42 million Americans won’t have enough nutritious food to eat due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. This is a Patch social good project; Feeding America receives 100 percent of donations.* Find out how you can donate in your community or find a food pantry near you.