
PROVIDENCE – The Rhode Island Community Food Bank, in partnership with the Brown University School of Public Health, recently released results of this year’s Rhode Island Hunger Survey, offering a window of the current challenges Rhode Islanders are facing regarding food and making ends meet.
The survey is conducted every four years. Since the last survey in 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic and economic disruptions caused by it caused the number of Rhode Islanders seeking food assistance to skyrocket to 75,000 people served monthly this year from around 53,000 served monthly in 2019.
Stay Ahead of Winter Respiratory Illnesses: Expert Advice from South County Health Express Care Providers
As winter progresses, so does the season of respiratory illnesses. Colds, the flu, RSV, and…
Learn More
The food bank says it administered the survey between April and June. A total of 459 surveys were completed at 65 randomly selected member agency sites, the food bank said.
Residents are still facing a myriad of challenges around obtaining food, including spending more, according to the survey, with two-thirds of surveyed households saying they have to spend more money each week on food to meet their needs. The median estimated amount needed was $98 per week, compared with $66 in 2019.
The survey results also show that 70% of federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefit recipients reported their benefits lasted just two weeks or less this year, compared with 49% who said the same four years ago. Also, 47% of those surveyed said they had to choose between paying for food or paying for utilities.
“The findings of this year’s Hunger Survey underscore the critical need for food assistance across the state,” Andrew Schiff, CEO of the Rhode Island Community Food Bank, said in a statement. “It’s becoming increasingly difficult for regular families to just get by and they’re having to make impossible choices as a result.”
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.