Over 100 thousand Hawaii residents – including 1 in 7 children – struggled against hunger in recent years, according to a new report by Hunger Free America, a national nonprofit group.
“It’s heartbreaking that –because of low wages and inadequate safety net programs in the state – Hawaii is in the midst of a hunger crisis, which devastates children, working adults, people with disabilities, seniors, and veterans,” said Joel Berg, Hunger Free America’s CEO.
The report found that, from 2018 to 2020, an average 134,849 Hawaii residents lived in food insecure homes, meaning they were unable to always afford an adequate supply of food, according to USDA data analyzed by Hunger Free America.
Despite these dire numbers, the report found that increase federal spending on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) – which was called the Food Stamp Program before 2009 – directly correlated to a sharp decrease in hunger in Hawaii between July 2020 and August 2021.
During the pandemic the number of people who “didn’t have enough to eat” in a one-week period soared to over 100 thousand in July of 2020, but dropped to less than 50,000 by August of 2021, according to U.S. Census Household Pulse data analyzed by the report.
The 50 percent drop in food insufficiency in Hawaii coincided with a massive boost in federal food and cash aid. From April 2020 to June 2021, federal spending on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) – which was called the Food Stamp Program before 2009 – more than doubled, from $40 million to $95 million, monthly.
Continued Berg, “The massive, historic increase in federal food and cash benefits significantly softened the blow of the hunger crisis during the pandemic. While tens of millions nationwide suffered mightily from food hardship during the pandemic – with countless numbers forced to skip meals, reduce portion sizes, and/or buy less nutritious but less expensive food – we did not face an actual famine like in the developing world because the government rapidly and effectively expanded the safety net. We are extremely grateful that our federal leaders provided these extra funds and benefits, and that State, County and City workers nationwide toiled under exceedingly difficult circumstances to effectively enable struggling families to access them. However, with over 100 thousand Hawaii residents not having enough to eat in just a one-week period, we clearly have our collective work cut out for us to enact the public policies needed to end hunger and slash the poverty that causes it.”
Other findings of the study:
- Nationally, 11.4% of Americans were found to live in food insecure households between 2018 and 2020, according to USDA food insecurity data analyzed by Hunger Free America. The states with the highest rates of food insecure individuals from 2018-20 were Mississippi (16.3%), Oklahoma (16.2%), West Virginia (15.6%), Louisiana (15.2%), and Kentucky (14.9%).
- 15.3% (nearly one in six) of all children in the U.S. lived in food insecure households. The states with the highest rates of food insecure children were Kentucky (21.0%), West Virginia (20.7%), Mississippi (20.2%), Oklahoma (20.2%), and North Carolina (19.6%).
- 9.7% of employed adults in the U.S. lived in food insecure households. That means that one in ten working adults in the country could not afford to fully fill their grocery carts all year.
- The states with the highest rates of food insecurity among employed adults were Oklahoma (14.8%), Mississippi (13.4%), Louisiana (12.7%), Alabama (12.6%), and West Virginia (12.6%).
- In the U.S., 7.1% of older Americans (one in 14), defined as people 60 years and older, lived in food insecure households. District of Columbia had the highest rate of food insecurity among older Americans at 13.7% followed by Mississippi (11.8%), Louisiana (11.3%), West Virginia (10.0%), and Kentucky (9.9%).
- Mississippi, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Louisiana, and Alabama were consistently on the lists of the top ten states with the highest rates of food insecurity for overall individuals, children, employed adults, and older Americans.
- 50 percent of responding food pantries and soup kitchens that responded to a nationwide survey by Hunger Free Americas reported that they served more people in 2021 than 2020.
The report includes detailed public policy recommendations at the federal, state, and city levels, including calling for the rapid passage by the U.S. Senate of the Build Back Better Bill, just passed by the U.S House, because it continues and expands the government pandemic social safety net. Said Hunger Free America CEO Berg, “Hungry Americans urgently need the U.S. Senate to Build Back Better Bill to not only prevent a relapse into the worst of the pandemic, but to also slash child poverty and hunger in the long-run. The bill is an important down payment on the broader economic and governmental steps we need to take in the future to finally end domestic hunger and ensure access to affordable, nutritious food for all Americans.”
The full report, “Surging Pandemic Hunger Stemmed by Government Safety Net Boost,” is available on Hunger Free America’s website: www.hungerfreeamerica.org