Safety constraints related to the coronavirus pandemic forced hunger relief organizations to eliminate key operations over the last year, including community meals and school-related programs, even as they struggled to meet increased demand for their services, according to a survey released yesterday by WhyHunger and Duke University.
“Our emergency food system was pushed to the brink — and it is clear that the status quo of food distribution is not a suitable solution to this growing, and chronic, condition,” said Alison Cohen, senior director of programs at WhyHunger.
The study’s preliminary findings, she said, “underscore what so many on the front lines of our nation’s anti-hunger efforts already know: Our emergency feeding system needs to fundamentally shift its approach to addressing the root causes of hunger, rooted in social, environmental, racial, and economic justice.”
Seventy-seven percent of the 200 organizations surveyed — spanning 39 states — reported an increase in unemployed clients, and more than two-thirds saw an unprecedented number of first-time recipients of food aid. But as the need increased, providers struggled with a waning volunteer base and encountered issues with refrigeration as they were flooded with perishable foods. Food banks around the country saw fewer volunteers, particularly among retirees — a usually reliable source of assistance — who were concerned about Covid infection. And few organizations had the capacity to adopt online alternatives for their outreach and education efforts, such as benefits-registration assistance or nutrition and cooking classes.
The pandemic’s toll on food relief groups will likely outlast the public health emergency. Before the crisis, organizations had invested in tailoring their food offerings to the medical needs and cultural preferences of the people they serve, as well as in expanded nutrition education programs. But according to the survey, 55 percent said they had to shift to prepackaged foods during the pandemic, and the consensus was that ongoing resource limitations will mean less investment in nutrition education going forward.
While the pandemic’s economic consequences fueled heightened demand for food assistance, emergency providers said they were overburdened due to more fundamental flaws in the food system. Eighty percent of the organizations described inequitable access to fresh, healthy products among low-income communities, particularly those of color, as a major driver of heightened need; 79 percent identified affordability issues that forced families to turn to food pantries as a primary source of daily meals.
Food providers plan to draw on their experience navigating the pandemic as they map out future operations, devoting more resources to advocacy — around improving access to federal benefits, and expanding food assistance — and efforts to help clients register for federal programs like SNAP, which are more effective than emergency food distribution in fighting hunger.
“It’s clear that these systemic problems that keep people poor, oppressed, and hungry will outlive this current crisis unless we take real action and transform our approach to ending hunger in the U.S.,” said Cohen. The Biden administration’s plans to expand summer feeding programs for kids, bolster SNAP benefits, and strengthen the WIC program, she said, are steps in the right direction.