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Feeding America analysis shows COVID-19 is impacting food insecurity

Improvements in food insecurity in the US during the past decade will likely be wiped out because of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new study by Feeding America.

Food insecurity levels for most communities across the country reached their lowest levels in 2018. About 37 million Americans were food insecure in 2018 and an estimated 54 million people may experience food insecurity in 2020 because of the pandemic.  

The Map the Meal Gap analysis finds that one-third of people who are food insecure may not qualify for federal food assistance. Almost all counties (97%) are home to people who are food insecure and the counties with the highest rates of food insecurity are rural.

Feeding America CEO Claire Babineaux-Fontenot says most people had no idea there were 37 million people facing hunger before the pandemic. She says if there is any “silver lining to the dark cloud of the pandemic,” it is that Americans are better informed about the food crisis.