Wages, Inflation Causing Food Insecurity in U.S.
CNBC.com
About 33.8 million Americans didn’t have adequate access to food, according to the latest report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That’s 13.5 million, or 10.2% of all U.S. households in 2021.
“Food inflation, as we’ve seen during the pandemic, has gone up, driven in large part by supply chain disruptions and shortages of food supply during the pandemic,” according to Erika Thiem, chief supply chain officer at the nonprofit Feeding America.
It’s worse for those with lower incomes. In 2021, the bottom 20% of households with the lowest income spent 30.6% of what they made on food, compared with just 7.6% for families in the highest income quintile.
“Issues of affordability and equity are the two driving forces across the United States. You can be working, yet you still need help,” said Catherine D’Amato, CEO of the Greater Boston Food Bank. “The wages are not carrying Americans far enough.”
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