The states with the most residents facing food scarcity
The COVID-19 pandemic created economic hardship for millions of Americans. Despite robust government efforts to provide relief to households, many families have struggled to meet their basic needs throughout the pandemic.Â
Food insecurity is associated with several mental health disorders
And some populations are disproportionately affected by food insecurity when compared to others. One strongly correlated factor is race and ethnicity. Nearly one in five black Americans (19.4%) reported facing food scarcity, with 17.2% of Hispanic Americans and 16.2% of multiracial Americans. In contrast, only 7.2% of White Americans are food insecure, while Asians fare best of all at 6.1%. Disparities are even starker by educational attainment: more than a quarter (25.8%) of Americans who have not completed high school reported food insecurity during the pandemic, compared to 14.1% of those who hold a high school diploma or GED and a mere 3.3% of those with a bachelor’s degree or higher.
Minorities groups and the less educated are more likely to face food scarcity
Because of food insecurity’s links to other population characteristics, some locations have a higher concentration of food insecure residents than others. Most of the states with the highest rates of food insecurity are located in the South, where the Black population is larger, educational attainment rates are lower, and residents face high levels of poverty and unemployment. The South accounts for nine of the top 10 states with the most food scarcity and 12 of the top 15.
To determine the states with the most residents facing food scarcity, researchers at Commodity.com calculated the percentage of adults in households where there was either sometimes or often not enough to eat, averaged over all available weeks of the Household Pulse Survey. As such, the data represents the typical percentage of adults facing food scarcity at any given point in time during the pandemic, not the cumulative number of people ever facing food scarcity. In the event of a tie, the state with the higher average number of adults facing food scarcity was ranked higher. Researchers also gathered data on poverty and unemployment rates for each of the top states.
Here are the states with the most residents facing food scarcity.
15. New York
Photo Credit: Victor Moussa / Shutterstock
- Percentage of adults facing food scarcity: 10.9%
- Total adults facing food scarcity: 1,426,103
- Poverty rate: 13.0%
- 2020 average unemployment rate: 10.0%
14. Tennessee
Photo Credit: Sean Pavone / Shutterstock
- Percentage of adults facing food scarcity: 11.1%
- Total adults facing food scarcity: 522,885
- Poverty rate: 13.9%
- 2020 average unemployment rate: 7.5%
13. Kentucky
Photo Credit: Jonny Trego / Shutterstock
- Percentage of adults facing food scarcity: 11.3%
- Total adults facing food scarcity: 341,658
- Poverty rate: 16.3%
- 2020 average unemployment rate: 6.6%
12. New Mexico
Photo Credit: stellamc / Shutterstock
- Percentage of adults facing food scarcity: 11.3%
- Total adults facing food scarcity: 163,444
- Poverty rate: 18.2%
- 2020 average unemployment rate: 8.4%
11. West Virginia
Photo Credit: Sean Pavone / Shutterstock
- Percentage of adults facing food scarcity: 11.4%
- Total adults facing food scarcity: 142,045
- Poverty rate: 16.0%
- 2020 average unemployment rate: 8.3%
10. South Carolina
Photo Credit: f11photo / Shutterstock
- Percentage of adults facing food scarcity: 11.7%
- Total adults facing food scarcity: 420,756
- Poverty rate: 13.8%
- 2020 average unemployment rate: 6.2%
9. Florida
Photo Credit: Galina Savina / Shutterstock
- Percentage of adults facing food scarcity: 11.8%
- Total adults facing food scarcity: 1,796,424
- Poverty rate: 12.7%
- 2020 average unemployment rate: 7.7%
8. Oklahoma
Photo Credit: Kevin Hearn / Shutterstock
- Percentage of adults facing food scarcity: 11.9%
- Total adults facing food scarcity: 315,640
- Poverty rate: 15.2%
- 2020 average unemployment rate: 6.1%
7. Georgia
Photo Credit: Luciano Mortula-LGM / Shutterstock
- Percentage of adults facing food scarcity: 12.0%
- Total adults facing food scarcity: 847,635
- Poverty rate: 13.3%
- 2020 average unemployment rate: 6.5%
6. Nevada
Photo Credit: Virrage Images / Shutterstock
- Percentage of adults facing food scarcity: 12.1%
- Total adults facing food scarcity: 262,158
- Poverty rate: 12.5%
- 2020 average unemployment rate: 12.8%
5. Arkansas
Photo Credit: Trong Nguyen / Shutterstock
- Percentage of adults facing food scarcity: 12.5%
- Total adults facing food scarcity: 251,179
- Poverty rate: 16.2%
- 2020 average unemployment rate: 6.1%
4. Alabama
Photo Credit: Sean Pavone / Shutterstock
- Percentage of adults facing food scarcity: 12.9%
- Total adults facing food scarcity: 426,266
- Poverty rate: 15.5%
- 2020 average unemployment rate: 5.9%
3. Texas
Photo Credit: D Guest Smith / Shutterstock
- Percentage of adults facing food scarcity: 13.0%
- Total adults facing food scarcity: 2,484,208
- Poverty rate: 13.6%
- 2020 average unemployment rate: 7.6%
2. Louisiana
Photo Credit: evenfh / Shutterstock
- Percentage of adults facing food scarcity: 14.6%
- Total adults facing food scarcity: 441,907
- Poverty rate: 19.0%
- 2020 average unemployment rate: 8.3%
1. Mississippi
Photo Credit: Sean Pavone / Shutterstock
- Percentage of adults facing food scarcity: 15.4%
- Total adults facing food scarcity: 299,575
- Poverty rate: 19.6%
- 2020 average unemployment rate: 8.1%
Supply chain disruptions are making it difficult for some schools to get food for student meals that meet U.S. nutrition requirements.
The DOJ has charged 47 people in an alleged scheme that stole $250M from a program aimed at feeding Minnesota children during the pandemic, feds say.
As the cost of living in the U.S. is up, government subsidies to help people pay for basics have disappeared. Up next on the chopping block: Emergency allotments of a food-assistance program that supports 30 million Americans.
Food bank managers fear demand will spike this month when officials roll back pandemic-era increases to federal food benefits.