The US. Is one of the wealthiest nations in the world. It ranks first based on total GDP and 7th based on GDP per capita. Yet when it comes to food security, America ranks 22nd among developed countries.
33.8 million Americans didn’t have adequate access to food, according to the latest report from the USDA. That’s 13.5 million, or 10.2% of all the US. Households, in 2021.
Spending on food assistance programs has grown exponentially, reaching a record of $182.5 billion in 2021. But food insecurity has only improved slightly since 2001, while the number of people experiencing very low food security grew slightly during the same period.
The latest research from the Bread Institute in 2014 says the US. Has lost almost $5.5 billion due to lost productivity caused by hunger.
So why are so many Americans still hungry? And what can be done to solve it? Food prices soared to record heights in 2022, pressuring households already in a pinch. Annual food at home prices climbed by 11.4% in 2022, compared to the year prior.
Several Experts point to income as the major cause behind food insecurity in America. The financial pressure from buying food gets higher the less you make. In 2021, the bottom 20% of households with the lowest income spent 30.6% of what they made on food, compared to just 7.6% for households in the highest income. It’s a problem that Gregory Bruce, a bow tie maker in Harlem, experiences every day.
Meanwhile, nearly a quarter of households that include a working adult with a disability were food insecure, compared to just 7% of households without disabilities.
Socially disadvantaged individuals are the ones most heavily impacted by food insecurity. Take communities of color, for example. Nearly one in five black households and 16.2% of Hispanic households suffered from food insecurity in 2021, compared to just 10.2% of non Hispanic minority households and 7% of white households.
Food deserts have also been widely blamed as another main cause of hunger. USDA estimates that about 53.6 million people, or 17.4% of the population in the US. Live in areas considered low income and low access, meaning the nearest supermarket is more than one half mile or 10 miles away.
But some experts argue that access isn’t the issue. A 2018 study from the National Bureau of Economic Research concluded that exposing low income households to the same products and prices as high income households had no meaningful effects on eating habits.
Food insecurity is an expensive burden to the US. Economy as a whole.
The latest research from the Bread Institute says the US. Has lost over $5 billion due to lost productivity caused by hunger as of 2014.
The Bread Institute also estimates the cost of special education caused by hunger to be over $5.9 billion in 2014, while nearly $13 billion are lost due to dropouts attributed to food insecurity in the United States that same year.
The latest data from Feeding America estimates that food insecurity costs the US. $52.9 billion in health care costs back in 2016.
A 2022 analysis from the American Action Forum estimates that just four nutrition related chronic diseases among 18 to 64 year olds cost the US. $16 trillion between 2011 and 2020.
The US. The Department of Agriculture budgeted $163billion for major nutrition assistance programs in 2022. Among them, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, is the largest domestic food assistance program for low income Americans.
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimate that SNAP reduces the overall prevalence of food insecurity by as much as 30%.
But despite its effectiveness, many are falling through the cracks. SNAP eligibility is based on the poverty threshold, but the Union of Concerned Scientists estimate that almost one in five households with incomes between 130% and 185% of the poverty threshold do not qualify for SNAP, even though they are considered food insecure.
A major complaint concerning Snap also revolved around its amount. In 2021, one in three households that received SNAP still had to visit the food pantry due to a lack of budget six out of ten SNAP recipients also reported that food prices prevented them from buying nutritious food. That was until a big change was made the same year to Thrifty Food.
Aside from increasing Snap, advocates suggest additional programs that focus on feeding the most vulnerable.
In 2022, the Biden Harris administration pledged more than $8 billion to end hunger by 2030.
Ultimately, the key to ending hunger lies in solving the core issues that cause Americans to struggle in the first place.
SOURCE: CNBC
