An estimated 1.14 million Arkansans, or about 37% of state residents, don’t have enough food to meet their needs, according to a report posted Wednesday (Aug. 26) from the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance.
The report was from the Arkansas Hunger Continuum, a partnership by the alliance with six Feeding America food banks in the state. It shows that many in the state experience hunger despite a nearly twofold increase in charitable food distribution over the past decade.
The findings were from more than 1,700 representative phone interviews and more than 3,500 paper surveys conducted statewide, according to the alliance.
“Food Banks across Arkansas have nearly doubled charitable food distribution in the last decade, yet food insecurity rates have continued to rise. We commissioned this study to help us understand this seeming contradiction,” said Christie Jordan, CEO of the Food Bank of Northeast Arkansas. “Because we measured food access and access to food assistance together, we were able to gain more insight into the experiences of people facing hunger in Arkansas. Because of this survey, we discovered that more than 400,000 Arkansans are food-secure only because they receive food assistance from programs like SNAP, WIC, and charitable food. It is my hope that leaders and decision makers can utilize information from this report to evaluate programs, interventions, and policy that will advance Arkansans toward food security.”
The report placed food insecurity responses into four groups. In one group, 14% of Arkansans, or 432,370 people, are getting no food assistance at all and still don’t have enough to eat. Another 23%, or 710,321 people, are already receiving support through SNAP, WIC, or charitable food and still fall short.
A smaller share, 14%, or 432,370 people, are food secure only because of the assistance they receive. The remaining 47%, or 1,451,526 people, meet their food needs without any help at all, compared with 62% of Americans nationally. That 15-point gap underscores the scale of food insecurity in Arkansas, according to the report.
“The Arkansas Hunger Continuum gives us a clearer, more complete picture of hunger in our state by showing not only who is struggling, but how and why families are falling short,” said Sylvia Blain, CEO of the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance. “When we understand the barriers Arkansans face, we can move beyond one-size-fits-all solutions and build responses that meet people where they are. This work is stronger because Arkansas’s six Feeding America food banks came together with a shared commitment to using data, partnership, and local expertise to create a more coordinated statewide response to hunger.”
Following are other findings in the report.
40% of Arkansans experiencing hunger did not seek public or private food assistance in the past year.
Among households experiencing food insecurity that receive no food assistance, 70% have incomes above 130% of the federal poverty level, and most include working adults, some working more than one job.
47% of Arkansans said someone in their family did not have enough food in the past year because of a lack of money or another sign of food insecurity.
Among households receiving free school breakfast, 85% reported that their children eat breakfast more often, 85% reported improvements in school performance such as higher test scores, and 80% reported more regular school attendance.
Among households receiving charitable food, 68% report less stress about feeding their families, 63% report eating more fruits and vegetables, and 62% report having enough food to last through the month.
Link here for a digital version of the report.
Related
Dining and Cooking