Americans may be back at work, but more of them are skipping meals than when COVID-19 shut the country down. A new Federal Reserve Bank of New York survey finds that food insecurity this year is higher than at any point since 2020—despite a solid overall economy. "We find a remarkable increase in food insecurity, particularly among lower-educated and lower-income households and households with young children," the Fed researchers wrote. In February, 10% of households reported missing meals because they couldn't afford food, compared with 4% in the summer of 2020, reports NPR. Nearly 16% relied on food donations. For families earning under $50,000, the picture is starker: close to 1 in 5 reported going without meals.
Food banks say they're seeing that strain up close. In Augusta, Ga., Golden Harvest Food Bank CEO Amy Breitmann says, "We have some distributions where people are sitting in a 2-to-3-mile line the night before a distribution starts. They're sleeping in their cars." In Alabama, a regional food bank is expanding to keep up with demand. Economists point to a "K-shaped" recovery, where the gap between the haves and the have-nots widens. Reliance on SNAP has grown as well: about 18% of families reported using benefits this year, up from roughly 11% in 2020, even as eligibility rules have tightened. "The greater financial strain due to the high cost of living, combined with the expiration of pandemic-era aid (such as expanded SNAP benefits), have led to renewed concerns about food insecurity among those at the bottom of the K-shape," the Fed researchers wrote, per CNN.
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
