Patch Holiday Food Drive Aims To Stem Food Insecurity Across America

ACROSS AMERICA — Let this figure sink in: $20,033,673,000. That’s the amount of money needed to make sure everyone in America has enough to eat.

First the pandemic and now high inflation are hitting the at least 38 million people who are food insecure according to Feeding America, the nation’s largest hunger relief organization. That includes 11.7 million children 18 and younger. The rate of food insecurity among adults is 11.8 percent, compared with 16.1 percent for children.

Food insecurity is a definition used by the Agriculture Department to describe people who at times don’t have access to enough food to maintain an active, healthy life. That includes 11.7 million children ages 18 and younger.

In our third Patch Holiday Food Drive, we’re asking readers to contribute to Feeding America to help end hunger everywhere in America where people struggle to feed themselves and their families. Feeding America retains 100 percent of your tax-deductible donation.

The cost of food insecurity can’t be measured in dollars and cents. Driven by poverty, unemployment and income shocks, food insecurity is associated with adverse social and health outcomes, especially among children who can face developmental, behavioral and psychological issues if they don’t get enough healthy, nutritious food. Food insecurity is increasingly seen as a critical public health issue.

Patch Managing Editor Autumn Johnson, who has spearheaded the Patch Food Drive since 2020, said supporting Feeding America is one way to help address the problem of food insecurity, which affects people in every county in the country.

“As a child, I was among the millions who suffer from food insecurity,” Johnson said. “Going to bed hungry takes its toll, and the psychological effects of chronic hunger can be long-lasting.

“Donating to Feeding America is a simple but powerful way to help children and families in need,” she said. “As someone who benefitted from the kindness of others, I can say that your donation has the power to make life better for those who need it most.”

Food insecurity and hunger can affect people from all walks of life. Millions of people in America are just one job loss, missed paycheck, or medical emergency away from hunger, according to Feeding America. But hunger doesn't affect everyone equally — some groups like children, seniors, and Black, Indigenous, and other people of color face hunger at much higher rates. Hunger also most often affects our neighbors who live in poverty.

Even in the best of times, food insecurity has been a problem in the United States. The pandemic ate away at gains in easing the problem, throwing millions of America into food insecurity in 2020 as they lost their jobs due to business shutdowns to slow the spread of COVID-19. At the time, Feeding America estimated 54 million Americans were living with food insecurity — 17 million more than before the pandemic.

While there’s no question the situation has improved, relentless inflation is taking the elastic out of many Americans’ food budgets.

The latest Consumer Price Index from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed the food-at-home index, a measure of grocery store price changes, increased by more than 12 percent for the year in October, the latest month for which data is available. That’s on top of sharp heating cost increases and rising costs at every turn.

“Higher food prices have shocked the budgets of families, seniors and people already struggling to make ends meet,” Katie Fitzgerald, Feeding America’s chief operating officer, said in a news release.

“High prices will continue to drive more and more of our neighbors to food banks and food pantries as we enter the winter season,” she said. “The problem we’ve seen this year is food banks are also struggling with higher food prices as more and more people need their help each month.”

Feeding America supplies 200 food banks and 60,000 food pantries and meal programs every year. Inflation is squeezing food banks along with the families that depend on them, the organization said earlier this year.

“The problem we’re seeing is that food banks are not immune to these inflationary pressures,” Fitzgerald said earlier this year. “So while they’re dealing with longer lines at distributions, they face soaring costs and other challenges to their operations.”

Feeding America said an earlier survey of member food banks found 70 percent saw declining donations, and about 95 percent said they were paying more for both food and transportation, forcing them to operate at deficits.

How You Can Help

Now through Dec. 31, we’re encouraging readers to make a tax-deductible contribution to Feeding America in the Patch Holiday Food Drive. Every $1 given to the organization buys 10 meals.

Feeding America estimates more than 38 million Americans, including 9 million children, do not have steady access to healthy, nutritious food. 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.

Some other ways to help:

• Volunteer: About 51 percent of all food programs rely entirely on volunteers. Get in touch with your local food bank to learn more about volunteer opportunities.
• Teach kids about hunger: The Feeding America Family Activity Guide includes ways children can make a difference.
• Start a fundraising campaign: You can start an online fundraiser or add Feeding America as your charity of choice on Amazon Smile or eBay.