Food insecurity continues to rise in Pittsburgh region, new report shows
A new report shows that regional food insecurity continues to rise in the Pittsburgh region.
It comes from Feeding America's Map the Meal Gap study, something it's been doing for 15 years now. This is a national report, but there are staggering stats at a local level, too.
At the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, the carts keep moving, and the trunks keep filling.
"My income needs to be supplemented. This is one way to do it: food banks," John Strothers of Wilkinsburg said.
It seems many people keep relying on places like this, according to Brian Gulish of the food bank.
"Going back to 2019, since before the pandemic, we were distributing about 31 million pounds of food," Gulish said. "We're over 45 million pounds of food right now this year."
New data from Feeding America's Map the Meal Gap shows that 13% of people in our region are food insecure. Those figures come from 2023, though.
"It's likely higher than that 13%," Gulish said.
Among children in our area, that figure is over 18%. With Hispanics, it's 25%, and Black people are at 33%.
"There are so many barriers and stigmas associated with food insecurity," Gulish said.
Gulish says solving this involves a holistic approach.
"If we can help those individuals in those other areas, hopefully, that will help alleviate that food insecurity as well," he said.
Those areas may involve helping people find employment, education, or housing.
"We need to make sure that everyone and every community has the resources they need to thrive," she said.
That includes places like Lawrence County, where the food insecurity rate is higher than the regional average at 14.1%, or even Indiana County, which stands at 14.5%.
"It is those rural populations where the most food insecure populations are overall, or with children," Gulish said.
It's part of why the volunteer work continues here. The people haven't lost sight of the end goal.
"We have work to do, but again, every day we walk through these doors, and we look at ways that we can put food on people's tables," Gulish said.
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