A nonprofit organization found that 1.1 million Georgians were food insecure over two weeks in August and September this year, a number that is significantly higher than during the height of the pandemic.
A Hunger Atlas Report published by Hunger Free America in Georgia has sounded an alarm to alert civic groups over a federal report indicating 47 million Americans are food insecure. Leaders of various civic and civil rights groups are blaming the spike in food insecurity on wage stagnation, cuts to social services, and the lapse of safety net provisions like the child tax credit and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits.
The survey, published this month, found that more than 1.1 million Georgia residents didn’t have enough to eat over two one-week periods during August and September, which is 67% higher than the same period in 2021.
The report, which includes data collected from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, underscores the severe societal consequences of food insecurity, including reduced productivity, increased health care costs, and educational underperformance, said Joel Berg, CEO of Hunger Free America.
Advocates continue pushing to strengthen federal safety net programs and increase wages to address the root causes of food insecurity.
In Georgia, the work of filling the food shortage gaps falls on the various food banks under the umbrella of Feeding Georgia, as well as numerous other civic organizations that rely on donations to help provide food for children and families suffering from economic hardships.
Nonprofits that work to alleviate food insecurity are dealing with changes to child tax credits, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits and universal free school meals.
Between 2021 and 2023, 1.5 million Georgians lived in food insecure households, according to USDA food insecurity data analyzed by Hunger Free America.
“We’re facing an affordability crisis in America, wages are just not keeping up with costs, and the safety net has been slashed since the pandemic,” Berg said.
According to a study conducted by Feeding Georgia and the University of Georgia in 2023, nearly 60% of Georgia families who visit food pantries make trade-offs between food and rent, utilities, and transportation.
A decrease in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program aid reaching Georgia families has contributed to food insecurity. Georgia, where one in three children suffer from hunger, was one of a dozen states in 2024 that declined to participate in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s summer feeding program.
Republican Gov. Brian Kemp declined to apply for an extension for a program that allowed the parents and guardians of 1.1 million kids who qualify for free- or reduced-price lunches across the state to get an extra $290 million in food assistance. Georgia’s final year of the program included children five and younger who were enrolled in SNAP.
Instead, Kemp last year awarded $38 million from the program to Georgia food banks to alleviate food insecurity.
States have until Jan. 1 to submit a notice of intent if they plan to participate in Summer EBT for 2025, according to the USDA.
“The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is central to the U.S. safety net’s ability to help families weather financial shocks,” a Brookings Institute 2024 research report said. “SNAP is a particularly important program because it is the only nearly universal means-tested program, meaning many low-income households are eligible, regardless of their demographic.”
A 2024 poll conducted by the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute found that many Georgians have struggled with food costs in the past year, and 84% agree that cutting SNAP at a time when food prices are high would be unfair to food insecure people.
The refusal of politicians to adopt Summer EBT leaves kids vulnerable to hunger, said Ailen Arreaza, executive director of ParentsTogether Action.
“Summer break is hard enough on parents. For families that usually qualify for free or reduced school lunches, it can be almost impossible,” Arreaza said. “Politicians should be supporting families and children in their state rather than denying eligible families access to much needed nutrition assistance.”
This story comes to GPB through a reporting partnership with Georgia Recorder.
