More people are going hungry now than at the height of the pandemic

More than 3,500 families attended a food distribution event organized by the Houston Food Bank in November. Mark Felix/AFP hide caption

More people in the United States are going hungry now than during the depths of the pandemic six years ago.

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A survey released Wednesday by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found higher levels of food insecurity this year than during the summer of 2020, when the coronavirus outbreak sparked double-digit unemployment.

The New York Fed periodically asks Americans if they're having to skip meals, rely on food donations or receiving federal assistance to buy groceries. Replies from the most recent survey in February show hunger is a more pervasive problem now than at any time in the last six years.

Amy Breitmann, who runs the Golden Harvest Food Bank in Augusta, Ga., has witnessed the growing number of families and children in need of food.

"We have some distributions where people are sitting in a two- to three-mile line the night before a distribution starts," Breitmann says. "They're sleeping in their cars."

The New York Fed survey from February found that nationwide, 10% of families reported missing meals for lack of food, and nearly 16% relied on food donations. Among families earning less than $50,000 a year, rates of food insecurity were about twice as high, with nearly 20% forced to skip meals or go without.

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The Community Food Bank of Central Alabama, which serves 12 counties in the state, is moving into a larger building to accommodate the increased need.

"Food insecurity could be your next door neighbor," says Nicole Williams, CEO of the food bank. "When gas cost a little bit more or food costs a little bit more, or they have a repair on their car or a medical bill, that takes away what they might be using to spend on food."

The results highlight what observers have called a "K-shaped economy", with a growing divide between the haves and have-nots.

"While many households are doing fine and economic activity overall has been expanding at a solid pace, large segments of the population are facing high levels of economic insecurity and financial strain, and consumer sentiment on the whole has dropped to low levels," economists at the New York Fed wrote in a blog post .

By comparison, in 2020 just 4% of households reported missing meals, including less than 7% of families earning less than $50,000 a year.

Food insecurity during the pandemic was offset in part by government relief payments and supplemental unemployment benefits, but those have long since ended. Food prices have also risen rapidly in the years since.

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The New York Fed's most recent survey was conducted before U.S. war with Iran, which caused a spike in gasoline prices and added to economic stress.

"If you're adding on another $100 to your budget a month just to put gas in your car to get to work or drop your kids at school and whatever they need their car for, where is that $100 coming from?" asks Breitmann. "Most typically, they're having to pull it from the grocery budget."

The New York Fed survey also found a growing number of people relying on SNAP benefits today, even though eligibility for the program has been tightened. Nearly 18% of families surveyed this year had received SNAP benefits — up from 10.6% in 2020. Among lower-income families, more than 38% are receiving SNAP benefits, compared to about 22% six years ago.

The Agriculture Department, which oversees the food assistance program, halted its own research on food insecurity last year, saying the studies did "nothing more than fear monger."