Video
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Hunger in Palm Beach County? Who knew?
Florida is one of seven states with a significantly higher
number of households with food insecurity problems than the U.S. national
average.
In Palm Beach County alone, as many as 17 percent of residents -
1 in 6 people - do not know where their next meal will come from. More than
180,000 Palm Beach County residents rely on Food Stamps for survival (a 300%
increase since 2008).
Hunger affects every dimension of a person's life - physical and
mental health, employment, and additionally, for children, school success.
Can we eliminate or at least reduce hunger in Palm Beach County?
Who is Hungry?
The 211 Crisis Helpline has seen a 30% jump in the number of
calls for food over the past 12 months. A survey conducted by
Feeding America reports that fully 17% of Palm Beach County residents are
“food insecure” which means that close to 225,000 are unsure where their next
meal is coming from. (Palm Beach County Food Bank information)
Recent data tells us why hunger in Palm Beach County is today
at record levels:
• More than 2,000 homeless residents
• 190,000+ residents currently receive supplemental nutrition
assistance benefits. This represents nearly a 300% increase
from 2008.
• 57% of Palm Beach county students receive free or
reduced-price lunch.
What Are We Doing About It?
There are more than 100 agencies in Palm Beach County
that help to feed the hungry. These agencies range from small churches that may
distribute a bag of non-perishable food once every three months to larger
organizations that serve hundreds of thousands of meals in one year. These
organizations exist in every municipality within Palm Beach County from Boca
Raton to Tequesta to the western communities of Belle Glade, South Bay, and
Pahokee.
In 2012, the Palm Beach County Food Bank distributed
over 5 million pounds of food to dozens of agencies in Palm Beach County
that serve the hungry; at least 35 million pounds of food is needed each
year.
For a complete list of those organizations that feed the hungry,
please see 211
Palm Beach /Treasure Coast, Inc.
Palm Beach County
16.26 percent of the
Palm Beach County population is food insecure, with 212,530 people not knowing
from where they will get their next meal.
61 percent of the
food insecure population in Palm Beach County qualify based on income for SNAP
(food stamps) and other federal nutrition programs, while 39 percent do not and
often must rely on emergency food assistance programs and need better wages and
employment opportunities to help them meet their basic needs.
$2.97 is the average
price per meal in Palm Beach County.
The food budget
shortfall in Palm Beach County per person per week is $15.96, with a total
shortfall of $102,905,240 or 34,648,229 meals.
23.9
percent of children in Palm Beach County are food insecure, meaning, 64,080
children go to bed hungry.
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