By Jennie Day-Burget, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, September 30, 2021
A recent report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) finds that approximately 10.5% of families experienced food insecurity in 2020—the same percentage as 2019.
That finding may not seem groundbreaking. But it is truly stunning.
How is it possible that rates of food insecurity did not increase during the worst pandemic in a century? After all, the economic upheaval caused by COVID-19 was swift and severe, with a perfect storm of factors—including massive job loss, significant wage reductions, widespread school closures, and marked increases in food prices—that one would naturally assume a sizable increase in rates of food insecurity across the board would occur.
It didn’t happen.
To be clear, a food insecurity rate of 10.5% is far too high. Rates are even higher among people of color and those with low incomes; we cannot accept that status quo. But major increases in economic and nutrition assistance, approved by Congress during the pandemic, prevented a dire economic situation from turning catastrophic. These types of strategic policy decisions offer a roadmap to not only navigate a public health emergency, but also to accomplish big goals—like ending hunger and poverty in this country for good.
Comments (0)