LISTEN: Statistics show nearly half a million children in Georgia struggle with food insecurity. This comes as the federal government has decided it will no longer provide data tracking hunger in the U.S. GPB’s Ellen Eldridge has more.
Statistics show nearly half a million children in Georgia struggle with food insecurity. This comes as the federal government has decided it will no longer provide data tracking hunger in the U.S.
For more than 30 years, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Household Food Security report has helped people understand community needs when it comes to hunger, said Kelcie Silvio, the senior policy analyst at Voices for Georgia’s Children.
Ending the report risks leaving children, families, and communities at risk, she said.
In addition, Congress recently passed a tax bill that includes the largest cuts to food stamps in the nation’s history.
"Georgia decision-makers really like to hear from their community," Silvio said. "And so if we don't have numbers coming from the feds that have already analyzed that, we're going to really have to be intentional about our nutrition and anti-hunger partners, making sure we have that voice heard."
The Household Food Security report tracks different types of family experiences to better understand what food insecurity looks like, and the data is broken down by state, Silvio said.
That granular data shows the trends for what's happening in Georgia households across regions.
"Food insecurity can look different for a lot of people," Silvio said. "So, it's, 'Are you missing multiple meals? Are you missing one meal a day? What are the reasons you're not eating? Is it budget or is it limited access to nutritious food? Is it limited to foods that might not meet your culture dietary guidelines?'"
The report shows what a household is spending on average relative to the thrifty food plan, which is what helps calculate what Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits people receive, Silvio said.
"It's really the formula baseline for how much you can get in a nutritious diet at the lowest cost," she said. "So, it's nice to see a couple different food programs from the USDA connected to what hunger might look like in a household."
USDA produces four food plans at successively higher cost levels: the Thrifty, Low-Cost, Moderate-Cost, and Liberal Food Plans, illustrating how a healthy diet can be achieved at various costs.
Losing access to the USDA Household Food Security report means loss of a gold standard for data when it comes to hunger and a data set that Voices for Georgia's Children analysts and state policymakers use to guide decision making.
"Ask your U.S. House Representative and Georgia's Senators to urge the United States Department of Agriculture reinstate the Economic Research Service (ERS) Household Food Security report," VFGC said in its emailed newsletter.
If you don't know how represents you in the U.S. Congress, find out by clicking here.
