Feeding America president speaks on food insecurity at Akron Roundtable

The leader of a nationwide network of food assistance providers told an Akron audience Thursday that food insecurity is dramatically increasing, and a mix of federal, state and community solutions is needed to reverse the trend.

In an Akron Roundtable luncheon speech at the University of Akron’s Quaker Station, Linda Nageotte, president and chief operating officer of Feeding America, said despite the pervasiveness of food insecurity — defined as having limited or uncertain access to nutritious food —the problem is one that can be eradicated.

Feeding America’s food banks, food pantries and local meal programs work toward a country where no one is hungry.

According to the USDA, in 2023 one in seven individuals in the U.S. experienced food insecurity. The chances are high with children, who face a one in five chance of experiencing food insecurity. More than 50 million people turned to the charitable food system last year to put food on their family table.

Those statistics play out in Greater Akron, where thousands are living in areas where residents lack affordable fresh food and reliable transportation essential to getting it, called food deserts.

Why is food insecurity a problem?

During her talk, Nageotte mentioned that rates of food insecurity are the highest they’ve been since the Great Recession, surpassing even peak pandemic levels.

Nageotte emphasized that hunger is the symptom of poverty and the rising cost of living. Families struggling with these issues are faced with a continuous cycle of impossible choices: “Do I pay the rent this month or do I put food on the table? Do I pay the utility bill to keep the lights on or refill my prescription?”

Today, she said, more than 35% of the people served by the United States’ food bank network earn too much to qualify for federal food programs — yet they still don’t earn enough to keep food on the table. When Nageotte started in her field over 30 years ago, that number was 5%, and that gap is only continuing to widen.

How can we solve food insecurity?

Nageotte said the one of the most effective ways to help ease food insecurity is the support and expansion of federal initiatives like SNAP benefits, universal free school meals and child tax credits. When these supports were enacted during the pandemic, Nageotte said, the number of people turning to the food bank system decreased quickly.

“These federal programs, they worked. I know that there are all kinds of perceptions that government programs are wasteful,” she said. “But let me make sure you know: the SNAP program is actually way, way more efficient than the charitable food system. For every meal’s worth of food that we provide, the SNAP program provides 10 meals for the same cost.”

One by one, these programs expired, she said. After each would end, lines at food pantries began to grow and grow. The trend was only exacerbated by inflation.

“So just imagine with me that we, as a civil society, would make conscious choices that could forever eradicate hunger in America,” Nageotte said. “By joining together today, by volunteering, by financially supporting your local food bank or one of the many local organizations that serve their neighbors needing food assistance, by donating food, by advocating for change; these are actions that you can take to help us in hunger today. By joining together to support smart legislation like a child tax credit, we can create outcomes like cutting child poverty in half, radically changing the future for our nation’s children and charting a path to end hunger for tomorrow.”

Questions and answers

After the presentation, Akron Beacon Journal Editor Cheryl Powell-Fuller moderated a question-and-answer session with Nageotte.

In response to a question about recent cuts to federal spending, Nageotte said she’s concerned about the impact on safety net programs but hopeful that the Trump administration shares the goal of stamping out food insecurity. She also emphasized that there are no eligibility requirements for those seeking Feeding America’s food bank resources..

One question referenced a recent Akron Beacon Journal series on food deserts, seeking Nageotte’s insight on why there are so few grocery stores in the communities between inner-city neighborhoods and downtowns.

“Food deserts exist both in rural communities and also in urban neighborhoods, and the way that our nation’s food system has consolidated has left communities in circumstances where it is unaffordable for a large retailer to position one of their stores in particular neighborhoods,” she said. “And because of the way that sector has changed so dramatically over the course of the last few decades, it makes it also very, very challenging for community-based grocers to just make it.”

She mentioned that new models to address food deserts are arising, including partnerships between nonprofit hunger relief organizations and for-profit entities. Communities will need to come together to foster solutions that address food deserts, she said.

Nageotte also said hunger disproportionately affects college students and already-marginalized segments of the population, including minorities and those in the LGBTQ+ community.

Bringing it home

Dan Flowers, president and CEO of the  Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank, introduced Nageotte to the audience.

The food bank will be hosting a Bringing It Home event on March 6, where the audience can see firsthand how the topic of food insecurity plays out at the local level. The event will be a pantry simulation.

The plan is for guests to gain a better understanding of the emergency food system and the hurdles local families often face while attempting to secure food.

Got a story recommendation? Contact Beacon Journal reporter Tawney Beans at tbeans@gannett.com and on Twitter @TawneyBeans. And follow her adventures on TikTok @akronbeaconjournal.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Feeding America President speaks on food insecurity in Akron