Little food, no energy, poor health. This is the reality for millions of Americans who, despite continuous efforts from local organizations and the government, suffer from food insecurity every day.

“Food insecurity occurs when, at some point during the year, households do not have enough resources to have enough food for an active, healthy life,” said Craig Gundersen, a professor in the Department of Economics at Baylor University.

First receiving attention from the government during the Great Depression, this problem has been around for decades. However, over the past three years, food insecurity rates have worsened significantly. 

Since 2009, food insecurity had been decreasing, reaching a record low in 2021, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), yet by 2022, there was a major spike. In just one year, food insecurity increased from 33 million to 44 million Americans.

This sudden spike in food insecurity rivals that of the Great Recession in 2008. However, unlike in 2008, this spike wasn’t caused by banks but rather by uncontrollable prices. Affecting everything from food to gas, the cause of this spike was inflation.

Food banks and inflation

The COVID-19 pandemic was a hard time for everyone. There was widespread sickness, unemployment, and isolation. What didn’t make this time easier was inflation.

From June 2020 to June 2022, inflation levels surged, increasing from 0.6% to 9.1%. Similarly, from June 2021 to June 2022, food prices skyrocketed, increasing from 2.4% to 10.4% and affecting every food-related establishment, including food banks.

“A food bank is a community organization whose mission is to provide food access to communities in need, and they do so through providing direct produce to those people,” said Jennifer Tong, the project manager for the Seligman Research Team at the University of California San Francisco.

As inflation increased and wages did not, food banks and their services became higher in demand, providing produce to everyone who needed assistance.

“Most food banks were closed during COVID-19, so we gained a lot of clients, and because of that, we opened our food bank to just about anyone who wanted to come,” said Robin Vasilakos, the Volunteer and Outreach Manager for the peninsula region of the Jewish Family and Children’s Services (JFCS) Food Bank.

Since the end of the pandemic, many things have returned to normal. People have found jobs, and inflation rates have begun to level off. However, nationwide food insecurity rates are still increasing.

“Whenever inflation is higher than what it’s been for an extended time period is when we expect food insecurity rates to be higher. My sense is that in 2024, food insecurity rates won’t increase as much as they did in 2022 and 2023 because inflation will be lower,” Gundersen said.

Although the data for 2024 is still being collected, it has been found that, in past years, the prolonged period of inflation has caused many to become food insecure, which doesn’t happen or disappear overnight.

“The duration of food insecurity is based on a variety of factors. Some people can be food insecure at one point, and then, months later, will be able to obtain food resources so they are no longer food insecure. So, I think it is a bit variable,” Tong said. 

Everyone’s situation is different, so there is no standard amount of time for being food insecure. For some, there could be no grocery store nearby, while for others, there may be too many family members to feed. These variables are different for everyone, unlike inflation. In 2021, when inflation increased, it increased for every person, every establishment, and everything.

During periods of inflation, prices for everything, especially food items, increase. When only so much usable food is donated to food banks every month, this is a problem. As a result, to feed the community, many food banks need to buy their produce, which is more expensive because of inflation.

“Some food banks have to purchase some of the food they give away. Maybe some are donations from Walmart or places like that, but some are food they have to purchase, which becomes more expensive for food banks and puts some strain on their finances,” Gundersen said.

Larger corporations like Walmart and the Second Harvest Food Bank can still succeed during times of inflation. However, more localized and smaller food banks like JFCS cannot. Since 2019, food prices have risen by 25%, creating a world where smaller food banks resort to larger establishments for help.

“We go to Second Harvest and pick up eggs, milk, and some necessities from there, so we’re not spending money on that. This happened over the last year, and it’s been super helpful for our budget because food has gone up in price,” Vasilakos said. “It’s such a wonderful way to save money.”

The benefits of choice 

Every year, millions of people receive help from food banks. However, every year, millions of people still struggle because they need aid for necessities beyond those of food. 

Food banks are everywhere. However, human services organizations aren’t. At JFCS, when you become a client of the food bank, you become a client of the organization.

“There are so many more services than just the food pantry here, and we would love people to become clients here so they can get all the help they need. We know that if they have food needs, they’ll have other needs as well,” Vasilakos said.

This ability to provide benefits for all kinds of insecurities is unique to smaller food banks, such as JFCS, which, according to Vasilakos, serves around 120 people per month. Unlike larger food banks in the Bay Area, JFCS’ intimate size and ability to approach the web of the underlying causes of food insecurity is what allows it to better help customers, many of whom have small budgets. 

Having tight money constraints forces many food bank clients to prioritize different expenses, causing many to need help in more than one area.

“In general, food prices have been really high, and one may be forced to choose between paying different bills. You may have to sacrifice a bit on the nutrient quality of food you buy because some of the easy-access, calorie-dense foods are cheaper than the more nutrient-dense foods,” Tong said.

Sacrificing different expenses for food nutrition is common among many food-insecure households and is the problem hundreds of organizations are working on combating. Among those is JFCS, which has a different, more unusual approach to the issue. With its smaller size, the food bank gives its customers a choice when it comes to food. 

“We connect with the clients themselves and say, ‘This is the list of stuff we have. What would you be interested in getting?’ That’s why I feel like we offer a more dignified way of getting food. People can choose to come in and shop for themselves, or they can tell me what they want,” Vasilakos said.

This approach serves many purposes, but according to Vasilakos, one of the most important is that it allows clients to maintain a sense of dignity. By providing clients with a shopping experience, JFCS is able to reduce the stigma many feel around receiving free food. 

Not only does the individual benefit from this approach, but the community does as well. In the United States, 92 billion pounds of food are wasted every year, and by giving the option of choice to clients, food banks are able to reduce food waste.

“We’re not just giving them food to give them food. We’re giving them something that they can actually use and won’t throw away,” Vasilakos said.

By giving customers a choice, JFCS is distributing food with greater certainty that it is going to a place where it will be used and wanted. Customers can choose foods based on their allergies and intolerances, which cannot be done at larger food banks.

“There might be somebody who needs low sodium, is vegetarian, or is gluten-free, and with the items our clients get, it’s everything they can use,” said Sara Green, the head volunteer for the JFCS Food Bank, San Mateo.

Allergies and intolerances are not the only thing taken into consideration. At the JFCS Food Bank, cultural restrictions are also looked at by the organization and the customer.

“With choice comes an ability for cultural sensitivity. With choice, people pick what they will actually eat. If you are receiving a box of produce, while amazing, you may be getting foods you aren’t familiar with or don’t like,” Tong said. 

At its heart, JFCS is a human services organization for all cultures and religions, but especially for Jewish people. JFCS is a place where Jews can receive help without receiving judgment, but this also means many of its customers have cultural restrictions on their food. 

With many of its clients identifying as Jewish, the JFCS Food Bank provides the ability to easily receive cultural food by always keeping kosher products in stock.

“We have things like gefilte fish and matzah ball soup so that people who want to keep kosher have the option,” Vasilakos said.

Giving people the option to choose, whether that means kosher or allergy-free food, is one of the many factors keeping people at JFCS. Another crucial component is the strong community surrounding the food bank, and by having clients who are also volunteers, JFCS can foster a welcoming and safe environment for newcomers.

“A strong benefit for the people who help provide the service but also receive it is that they identify people in the community who look like them. A lot of times, what can be stigmatizing and difficult is when you’re receiving a service from somebody that doesn’t look like you, or you feel you can’t connect with,” Tong said.

The people involved with JFCS, many of whom give back through volunteering, are what makes its community thrive. 

At the end of the day, without volunteers, the concept of a food bank would not be possible. By volunteering, clients can not only help others in similar situations but also give back to what helps them survive.

“The JFCS Food Bank is a great program, and I hope others get involved. So many of our food bank clients have gotten into packing the grocery bags or delivering food to others, and it’s a lot of fun. So, it creates this kind of multi-layer of volunteering, which is really nice,” Green said.