Relation Between Annual Trends in Food Pantry Use and Long-Term Unemployment in New York State, 2002–2012

摘要

We examined the correlation between trends in meals provided through food pantries and long-term unemployment from 2002 through 2012. The New York State Hunger Prevention and Nutrition Assistance Program provided about 192 million meals through food pantries in 2012—double the number before the Great Recession. Annual food pantry use was strongly correlated with long-term unemployment and remained on an upward trend from 2006 through 2012, even after the Great Recession had ended. These findings suggest that efforts to reduce hunger and food insecurity should continue to be priorities. Food pantries are a critical source of relief, used by about one quarter of food-insecure households. 1 By providing safe and nutritious foods, 2 food pantries may also help prevent health problems because food insecurity is often associated with higher risks of poorer physical, cognitive, behavioral, and mental health outcomes along with inadequate nutrient intake. 3–5 However, continuing cuts to national nutrition programs will lead to an increased demand for pantry services, 6,7 straining an already overburdened system. There is a paucity of studies on the use of emergency food relief services that is largely the result of a lack of readily accessible data collected on an ongoing and systematic basis regarding the use of emergency food relief services at the local, state, and national levels. Even when data are available, there is often a lag of 6 months or longer. This lag has meant that local and state program planners are not always able to anticipate periods of increased demand for emergency food relief services. However, data on indicators of economic conditions that could be related to use of emergency food relief services are readily available and could be used to inform planning and targeting of food pantry services. In this article, we examine the correlation between trends in meals provided through food pantries and long-term unemployment from 2002 through 2012.