Unemployment is low and other economic indicators all suggest that the state of the economy in the D.C. region is strong. But a new report out hints at growing problems in an increasingly unaffordable region.
The 2024 Hunger Report from the Capital Area Food Bank shows that food insecurity increased substantially over the last year, and that what on paper looks like a stronger and improving economy isn’t being experienced by everyone.
The new report found that 37% of the region’s residents experienced food insecurity at some point between May 2023 and May 2024. Radha Muthiah, president and CEO of the Capital Area Foodbank, said it’s reflected through a “perfect storm of factors.”
“We’ve had higher prices over the course of the last couple of years, wages that haven’t kept pace with inflation and the reduction — and some may say evaporation — of government supports that were keeping many, many families afloat,” she said.
Report: One-fifth of households making $120K were food-insecure
The Capital Area Foodbank, which defines middle-class income as households earning approximately $100,000 to $150,000, reports those families are feeling the pain. Muthiah calls it “the sharpest increase in food insecurity across our region.”
The study found that one-fifth of households in the Greater Washington area making the median income of $120,000 were food-insecure. That’s a direct reflection of the ever-increasing cost of living that is “dramatically out of alignment with wages for many,” the report stated.
“What we see in our area is that you need to make about $127,000 for a family of four to be able to make all your ends meet: pay your rent, pay your transportation, pay for medical expenses, pay for child care, pay for food,” said Muthiah.
But for families that see a disruption to their employment status or if an expensive emergency pops up, there’s only so much wiggle room when it comes to managing their finances.
“You can’t negotiate your rent or your medical expense or your child care, so what people end up doing is squeezing their food budgets, eating a little less, eating less nutritious foods,” said Muthiah. “All of that accounts for the increase in food insecurity amongst this middle income group.”
For the survey, the group used the definition of food insecurity provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture: “The limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods, or limited or uncertain ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways.”
‘The government needs to step in’
Many of those surveyed may have experienced food insecurity for a brief period of time, but it’s happening more often.
In the last fiscal year, Muthiah said the Capital Area Food Bank provided food for 64 million meals around the region, which is more than double what was being provided before the pandemic.
And she said meeting that demand just isn’t something the nonprofit food pantry can sustain for years on end.
“This is where the government needs to step in, in a really significant way,” she said. “We saw during the pandemic, and the year after the height of the pandemic, various government supports that made a dramatic difference in people’s lives.”
She pointed to the child tax credit increase during the pandemic, which slashed childhood poverty by significant numbers within the span of one year, as a much more effective way to help people since not everyone is willing to ask for help from local nonprofits. More than half of those who would have qualified for some sort of food assistance within the last year also never bothered to get any.
“So we know what it takes to be able to succeed and reduce these numbers,” argued Muthiah. “We just need consistent commitment from government at all levels, federal, state and local, to be able to provide the supports that so many of our neighbors need.”
Shopping ‘in the middle of the grocery store’
The report found people of color are most likely to be impacted by food insecurity. The study found 53% of Black and Hispanic people living in the D.C. area were food insecure at some point.
Parts of the region with the highest rates of food insecurity were Prince George’s County, Maryland, where it’s estimated half of the county’s population was food insecure at some point, and Prince William County, Virginia, which saw 43% of its residents struggling at some point.
“The average cost of living increase over the last few years in our area is just about 18%, whereas the average wage increase has been just under 8%,” said Muthiah.
What ends up happening for many is food becomes “the most fungible part” of a person’s budget, Muthiah said. Families start to think carefully when shopping for groceries and skipping produce, protein and dairy because their prices have gone up more than items found “in the middle of the grocery store.”
“These are the types of tightening of the belt or squeezing of the food budget that we’re hearing from so many of our neighbors,” she said.
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