Pandemic, poverty and unemployment heighten hunger in Iowa
“’You can’t look at hunger without looking at other factors of poverty,’ Guardado pointed out.
Michelle Book, CEO of Food Bank of Iowa in Des Moines, agreed, saying it’s not difficult to understand how families have to choose between paying their rent first and filling up the gas tank before worrying about from where the next meal is coming.
Book said two factors that influence food insecurity rates include unemployment and poverty, according to food bank network Feeding America. The overall poverty rate in 2019 was 10.5 percent among white, 18.8 percent for Blacks and 15.7 percent for Latinos.
Feeding America projected that more than 42 million people across the country may have experienced food insecurity in 2020 due to the effects of the pandemic, including 13 million children.
They also found racial disparities in food insecurity that existed before and remain in the aftermath of the pandemic. Feeding America projects that 21.6 percent of Black individuals may experience food insecurity this year, compared to 11 percent of white individuals.”