National network of food banks anticipates 8 billion-meal shortfall in the next year

The United States is facing a shortage of up to 8 billion meals in the next 12 months, according to the food bank network Feeding America, the result of soaring hunger amid the COVID-19 pandemic and increased demand at food banks, the Washington Post reports. 

The network of more than 200 food banks estimated as of July that demand for food provided via charities will rise to 17 billion pounds over the next year, which amounts to more than triple the network’s last annual distribution of food. But it’s likely that food banks and charities will be unable to accommodate the increasing demand.

Food assistance organizations in New York have been expanding their efforts to reach hungry residents who have been hit hard by the pandemic and the economic recession. City Harvest, New York City’s largest food rescue organization, rescued and delivered 56 million pounds of food between March and the end of August, a 79% increase compared with the same time period last year. And projections from Feeding America estimate that more than 1.5 million people in the city will struggle with food insecurity, a 38% increase from figures predating the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Feeding America and many other advocates against hunger have pushed the federal government to expand access to food stamps to offset meals provided by charities. The organization’s analysis found that a 15% increase in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits in the next 12 months would reduce need by 4 billion pounds.