COVID-19 Pandemic Increases Demand for Food Pantries’ Services
By Jeff Ferrell, KSLA
SHREVEPORT, La. — The problems of poverty and hunger in the United States have only gone from bad to worse during this COVID-19 pandemic.
More than 35 million people, including more than 10 million children, in the United States struggled with hunger last year.
And more than 54 million people, including 18 million children, may experience food insecurity this year.
That’s according to the latest estimates by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and published by FeedingAmerica.org.
The research blames the trends almost entirely on the coronavirus pandemic that has left millions of families without stable employment.
Starting in March, demand at the Food Bank of Northwest Louisiana jumped by as much as 33%, according to Executive Director Martha Marak.
“Unfortunately, since March we really have not seen our numbers go down at all. They are remaining pretty consistent. And this tells us that there’s still a lot of folks that are unemployed or underemployed that are still struggling to make ends meet.”