Most children wake up thinking about school, friends, pets, and other typical childhood worries. Elizabeth Ford, Founder and CEO of A better life in Purcellville, VA, remembers having only one concern as a child when he first opened his eyes – food. Not what he was going to eat, but if he was going to eat it.
“That was an everyday thing,” Ford told SavingAdvice. “I woke up and said how are we going to eat today?
“I grew up food insecure. So, what I did to make up for not having food at home I would go to 7-Eleven every day, and my friends and I would sit outside, and we would ask people for a place to stay. We called them shelters, and in those places, we would go into 7-Eleven and buy our hot dog, a hot dog, you know, that was our average drink, whatever our drink would be that day.
Today, through BetterALife, the Fords work to help others in Northern Virginia, including children growing up like her.
Growing Demand
About 48 million Americans will live in food-insecure households by 2024, according to the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Economic Research Service’s. Household Food Security in the United States report. Of that number, 14.1 million are children under the age of 18.
The USDA’s annual report shows data that is two years old. As a result, those statistics may be woefully out of date. Information from people with boots on the ground and local and regional food banks shows that requests for food assistance are increasing rapidly.
Marianne Lynch, executive director of Open Linka grocery store about 40 miles north of Philadelphia, “is seeing a 25% increase in restaurant use, as well as an increase in the distribution of emergency food bags.”
Jane Poole, Chair of the Board North Hollywood Interfaith Food Pantry Southern California, reports a similar increase in applications for food assistance. “Our numbers continue to rise; we’re still up compared to last year, about 26%. However, that number may be growing.
“We’re getting calls from new customers every distribution day,” Poole reports, adding, “Demand has reached an all-time high. Lines are around the block, and many neighbors seeking help are doing so for the first time.”
Jillian Hishaw, attorney and founder/director of Family Farming Resource Management Services (FARMS), reports a similar trend. His organization works with farmers to buy produce that is delivered to different food banks.
“We just shipped 32,000 pounds of sweet potatoes to the South Carolina food bank,” Hishaw told SavingAdvice, “and the line to get them is about three blocks long.”
Who Are Hungry?
Many of the food assistance recipients Ford sees are the working poor, people stuck in low-paying jobs and unable to find higher-paying jobs.
“Typically, a person has a job, so that job will pay the rent,” Ford said. And if it’s a matter of rent or food, they want to keep a roof over their heads.
“We find a dramatic increase in food insecurity, particularly among educated and low-income families and families with young children,” wrote economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. bank blog late last month.
However, the same post noted that the current economic conditions are creating a poor and deprived society that keeps pushing the middle class into troubled financial waters. This is called a “K-shaped economy”.
“A high K-shape indicates high and growing levels of wealth, fueled by rising stock prices, high levels of home equity, and reduction in mortgage payments following the 2020-21 refinancing boom,” the New York Fed said.
“The people most affected are those living in poverty,” according to Poole, “and those making even 50k.”
What’s Driving the Increase in Food Applications?
The disproportionate impact of inflation, coupled with government funding cuts, is driving the rise in food aid applications, sources tell SavingAdvice.
“Low and middle income families usually face it high inflation prices,” noted the New York Fed, “with much of their spending on goods that have seen prices rise since the pandemic, such as housing, groceries, and utilities, causing them to cut back on purchases.”
“Increasing prices on almost everything is unsustainable and hits those with low incomes, such as seniors and working families, the hardest,” said Lynch. “That, combined with SNAP and Medicaid continues to increase the need for charitable giving.”
“Applications for food assistance are increasing due to inflation, rising grocery costs, due to higher costs and operating costs, including increased labor wages, health care costs, and higher fuel prices,” asserted Poole.
High inflation hurts farmers who grow the crops they depend on to feed the hungry.
“Product costs have gone up a lot,” said Hishaw, whose law firm handles bankruptcy. “Our cost per trailer of product has tripled in the last year.
“Even the farmers have a problem, Chapter 12 says the farmers have lost money, the number of those included in Chapter 12 has doubled. I get calls three times.”
SNAP Cuts
Efforts to feed food insecure Americans began in the 1930s, during the Great Depression. In 1939, the food stamp program was started. It was suspended during World War II due to shortages and revived again with the Food Stamp Act of 1964. Today, it is called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
“The SNAP program helps more than 42 million Americans buy food each month,” Sara Bleich, Professor of Public Health Policy at the Harvard Chan School of Public Health, said in a Kennedy School interview: “That’s one in eight Americans, and 70% of those participants are elderly, disabled, or children.”
SNAP is funded by the federal government and administered by each state. However, those government funds have been cut off.
Asked about the impact of reducing SNAP funding, Ford offered a real-world example.
“Therefore, we help provide lunch for children in schools,” said Ford. For example, we will leave 25 lunches at the school, after which the school will give them to the children who know they will not eat that day.
What are the Benefits of SNAP Action?
President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) was signed into law last year. Eliminates nearly $186 billion in SNAP funds over the next 10 years. That’s the biggest cut in the program’s history.
In addition to SNAP funding, the law imposes strict work and paperwork requirements on program recipients. Now, adults with children over the age of 14 must work at least 20 hours a week. The same rule applies to adults between 18 and 64 without dependents. However, the extra paperwork can be a big challenge. Each month, SNAP participants must log their hours worked and file a report with their state. Since then, state officials must review and process each report, adding to the state’s administrative costs.
Medicaid Cuts
In addition to food insecurity, an increasing number of low-income families and those on low incomes have lost their medical benefits. OBBBA cuts nearly $1 trillion in Medicaid funding over 10 years.
Reducing Medicaid benefits from 2022 to 2024 led a 23% increase in the number of uninsured childrenaccording to a report released on Monday. The report came from the Center on Children and Families (CCF) at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy. CCF measured last week that two million children lost medical insurance due to cuts to Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) beginning in January 2025, with millions more expected.
Summer Food Shortages for Children
Many children look forward to a summer vacation without the hassles of the school schedule. However, for those facing food insecurity, summer can be a time of stress and anxiety.
“In fact, summer is a very hungry time for families and children,” said Ford. Little food comes to children who often rely on the free or reduced-price lunches they receive at school.
In addition to its year-round food drive, BetterALife runs several programs aimed at feeding children during the summer. Many other food pantries are also taking extra steps to feed children after school.
Open Link has expanded its services to meet growing customer demand, including staying open on Tuesday evenings.
“The increase in hunger has also fueled our other food-related programs,” reports Lynch, “including our Summer Kids Meal program, where we distribute free breakfast to all children 18 and under in the Valley, and our senior community lunch program.”
The combination of inflationary costs and increased requests for food aid is putting more pressure on food banks.
“A lot of food banks have been expanded, because of government funding cuts,” Hishaw said. “Many of the food banks we work with are in rural areas, and they are cutting back.”
What to Read Next
‘Group D’ Delay: Why Some SNAP Households May See $0 Balance Until Their Regular June Discharge After May 17 System Update
SNAP Benefit Figures Are Out Now – Here’s How They Could Affect Your Food Budget
Sugar Crackdown: 4 States Ban Candy & Soda for SNAP Users – Are More Restrictions Coming?
