BOSTON — Even as parts of the economy slowly reopen, food insecurity across the state continues to rise.
Feeding America, a nonprofit hunger-relief organization, updated its projections to forecast 1 in 8 people in Eastern Massachusetts will experience food insecurity in 2020, a sharp increase over its initial projections made before the coronavirus epidemic, a representative of the Greater Boston Food Bank told Boston 25 News.
The new figure represents a 59% increase over Feeding America’s original projection of 1 in 13 people.
“We anticipate [high demand] to persist through the end of the year,” said Catherine Drennan, director of communications and public affairs at the Greater Boston Food Bank. “These unemployment rate numbers, while getting slightly better, you have to remember there’s a lot of people that were put into an economic situation they weren’t prepared for. That takes months, months to recover from.”
The Greater Boston Food Bank distributed 9.7 million pounds of food in May, an all-time record for the organization and its partners.
If you need help with food security, here are some resources:
- Find a local food pantry, meals and resources at The Greater Boston Food Bank
- Call 211, which can help connect you with a local food bank and/or learn how to apply for SNAP
- Call Project Bread’s FoodSource hotline at 800-645-8333
Drennan said her organization is also looking for healthy people to volunteer. Also, she notes, a $1 donation provides three meals to those in need.
Related:
Nearly 20 million pounds of food distributed by Greater Boston Food Bank during pandemic
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