Hunger skyrockets in region: Organizations grappling with dramatic increase in need

While many families are gearing up for their holiday feasts, a large number of Massachusetts residents are struggling to put food on the table. Amid unusually high prices and the conclusion of many pandemic-era supports, local food banks and survival centers are being met with greater need than ever before.

According to the Greater Boston Food Bank, about 1.9 million adults, or 34% of the state’s households, reported experiencing food insecurity in 2023. Closer to home, a study in 2023 conducted by Mass General Brigham and the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts found that 41% of western Massachusetts households were struggling with food insecurity, and over the past year, local organizations battling hunger say they have continued to see more and more families in need.

“We are seeing really high rates of food insecurity in terms of statewide metrics of food insecurity,” said Lev BenEzra, executive director of the Amherst Survival Center. “We’re really seeing enormous levels of need… record numbers of people are coming in for the very first time.”

BenEzra said that during the COVID-19 pandemic, there was certainly a bump in the number of people in need of the Survival Center’s services, but that numbers have been rising with particular steadiness since the end of 2022, and especially throughout 2023. This, BenEzra credits to a combination of high inflation and the expiration of federal pandemic recovery programs such as child tax credits and expanded SNAP benefits, leading to a “perfect storm of increasing costs” for basic necessities.

“These benefits ended, and inflation started to tick up,” said Andrew Morehouse, executive director of the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, who said that low-income individuals are currently “confronting the challenges they’ve always had that have been exacerbated.”

As of this past August, the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts has served 124,478 people — even more than were served at the peak of the pandemic. The food bank moved into a new, much larger facility in Chicopee about a year ago, allowing it to receive and distribute food to its vast network of food pantries, senior centers and other local organizations with greater efficiency.

As the food bank continues to see record levels of need, its new location and increased size have been a source of help as it provides food, SNAP enrollment services, cooking demonstrations, and much more. Morehouse said that the food bank’s programs are designed to take a holistic approach to hunger and food insecurity, which often have deeper root causes than simply a lack of food.

“Overall, poverty and a lack of income are a deeper cause of hunger, and also systemic barriers like racism and discrimination,” said Morehouse. He added that, at the food bank, “we like to think of ourselves like a big tent, and everyone can be part of the solutions, because there’s no one solution to hunger.”

The Northampton Survival Center is also experiencing similar trends. Executive Director Heidi Nortonsmith said that in the past six to eight months, the center has seen almost twice the amount of need as before the pandemic.

During the height of the pandemic, Nortonsmith said that there was a “huge need” for food support from the center that “leveled off” as the world began to return to some sense of normalcy. Now though, Nortonsmith said those numbers have been increasing once more as households grapple with the high costs of food and housing while their wages fail to keep up with a rising cost of living.

“We have seen some changes, as everybody has, since the pandemic started,” Nortonsmith said. Keeping up with high levels of need has meant the Northampton Survival Center getting continued use out of its pandemic-era service modes, such as drive through and curbside food pickups, as well as delivery programs.

On United Way’s radar

Over the past few years, food insecurity has become a main area of focus in local needs assessments, such as the 2022 Community Health Needs Assessment by Cooley Dickinson Hospital, which identified access to healthy foods as a continued priority.

In light of such alarming trends in local food insecurity data, the United Way of the Franklin and Hampshire Region has identified food insecurity as a top priority for its philanthropic endeavors in the coming years.

Executive Director Geoff Naunheim said that while there are many ways to measure food insecurity and hunger depending on what data sets are being used, “the rates have skyrocketed and it’s a problem.”

“The least expensive food items have gone up the most — people cite eggs a lot,” Naunheim said of the high costs individuals currently face in grocery stores. “Nonprofits can leverage the funds that we have to get food in a big way.”

Because of this, the United Way of the Franklin and Hampshire Region is planning to award three-year grants to local nonprofits working to battle hunger. Naunheim added that with recent cuts to the state’s Healthy Incentive Program, or HIP, and anticipated cuts to SNAP funding, he hopes these grants give organizations one less cost to worry about.

What can individuals do?

While the causes of food insecurity are varied and far-reaching, local philanthropic leaders say that there are ways for individuals to help ameliorate this issue. In particular, contributions of time or money, however small, were lauded as the most impactful ways to lend a hand.

Naunheim noted that there have been recent increases in overall philanthropic giving, but that it has mostly been “high capacity donors” awarding large gifts to large organizations. But smaller donations to local organizations have not seen such an increase, he said.

“A small donation goes a long way,” said Naunheim, who said he encourages individuals to donate to their local food pantries, survival centers or other hunger-fighting organizations.

Nortonsmith said that the Northampton Survival Center is “always grateful for community support,” and that “monetary contributions go the farthest,” because the center is working with limited space. A gift of money enables the center to buy whatever is needed, when it’s needed.

Nortonsmith also emphasized the enormous role played by volunteers in keeping the center and other local organizations running.

“We survive, frankly, because of the work of about 300 volunteers throughout the year,” she said. “We encourage people to give us a call if they want to get involved in that way.”

Morehouse also emphasized the enormous importance of community support, whether it be food donations from local stores, monetary contributions from individuals or the help of the food bank’s many loyal volunteers. Plus, Morehouse said, giving back to the community doesn’t just benefit those in need, but everyone who calls it home.

“Every community, every individual benefits when more people are food secure,” he said.

Alexa Lewis can be reached at alewis@gazettenet.com.