During the holidays we traditionally think about providing food to those who can’t afford to provide for themselves. While the holidays are difficult for families with limited incomes, many families must search year-round for food from emergency sources, such as food pantries and soup kitchens.

The New Hampshire Food Bank, the only food bank in New Hampshire, knows the challenges of hunger all too well. Serving more than 350 soup kitchens, shelters, and food pantries throughout New Hampshire, the Food Bank distributed 3.9 million pounds of food last year—up from just over two million in 2004, according to Melanie Gosselin, the Food Bank’s executive director. By supporting the New Hampshire Food Bank, you are supporting an organization that “feeds the programs that feed the hungry.”

New Hampshire’s emergency food system: straining from the need
More than 95,000 people in New Hampshire live below the federal poverty guideline, $20,000 annual income for a family of four. An additional 120,000 people live in households with incomes below 200 percent of the poverty level.

The majority of New Hampshire’s poor adults hold jobs, but earn low wages. From 2000 to 2005 New Hampshire experienced a loss of manufacturing jobs and an increase in low-wage retail jobs. We see this shift reflected in the rise in use of federal food assistance programs and food pantries.

Last year 56,338 people received food stamp benefits in New Hampshire, yet only 54 percent of the households eligible to receive the benefits choose to participate in the program. This lack of full participation in the federal nutrition assistance programs strains the already-burdened emergency food system. Even when families participate in the food stamp program, they must still rely to some extent on the emergency food system, since average monthly food assistance benefit per person is $80.56.
 
Studies reveal the extent of hunger and need in New Hampshire
America’s Second Harvest, the organization that provides networks for more than 800 food banks around the country conducted a national survey in 2005 to determine the extent of need in each state. Food pantries, shelters, and soup kitchens reported increases in requests for their services and survey respondents verified their need to visit one or more food pantries a month in order to meet their family’s nutritional needs. Here in New Hampshire:

• 45 percent of respondents said they had to choose to pay medical bills before food
• 42 percent choose to pay for utilities before food
• 27 percent reported paying for rent before food

The recently released New Hampshire’s Basic Needs and Livable Wage Study indicates that a family of four (two parents, two children, both parents working) must have an income of $48,625 to meet their basic needs—is two to two-and-a-half times more than the average low-wage employee earns annually. The study defines the basic needs as food, shelter, heating fuel, transportation, taxes, basic telephone service, childcare, healthcare, and some clothing allowances. It assumes the family prepares all of their food from home and doesn’t count cable television or internet services—living conditions most of us would consider stark at best.

These aren’t temporary statistics occurring only during the holidays. These figures persist throughout the year and are on the rise. Census and federal nutrition assistance program data show a steady increase in individuals and families looking for sources of food to meet their basic needs.

In October the United States Department of Agriculture released their 2005 Household Food Security Study, which indicates the percentage of people who have difficulty buying enough food for their families because they don’t have enough money. The USDA survey reports:

• Nearly 7 percent of New Hampshire households experience food insecurity because they don’t have money to buy enough food to meet their family’s nutritional needs.
  
  
• More than 2 percent report going without food for a number of days at some point during the year because they didn’t have enough money to buy food.

Need for emergency food supplies will continue
Unless these root causes of hunger and food insecurity change, many families in New Hampshire will continue to require emergency food assistance to meet minimum nutrition needs. You can support the New Hampshire Food Bank with donations of money, food, or time. The virtual food drive is a welcome effort to combat hunger in New Hampshire. Every dollar donated to the food bank has the buying power of four meals. Donations of food with high nutritional value and volunteering are all welcome sources of support.

By Helen E. Costello, MS, RD, LD, UNH Cooperative Extension Nutrition Connections Program Food Security Consultant

Costello chairs the Hunger and Environmental Nutrition Dietetic Practice Group of the America Dietetic Association and sits on the advisory councils for both the UNH Center for a Food Secure Future and the New Hampshire Food Bank.

For more information about hunger and food security in New Hampshire:

• Extension’s hunger and food security pages
• UNH Center for a Food-Secure Future
• New Hampshire Food Bank