Food Banks Raise Alarm Over Child Hunger as the Pandemic Continues
Boxes of food are stacked at a warehouse of the "Banque Alimentaire" Food Bank, prior to distribution on December 3, 2020 in a suburb of Paris, France. The economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the demand in support for France's most vulnerable. Siegfried Modola/Getty Images

More than 50 million people in America, including 17 million children, are likely to have food insecurity by the end of the year, according to Feeding America, the country's largest anti-hunger organization.

According to NBC News, that amounts to one in six Americans and one in four children, which is an increase of almost 50 percent over last year.

President and CEO of the Greater Boston Food Bank, Catherine D'Amato, said in her 40 years of working in food banks, the need has never been greater.

D'Amato noted that she had seen many disasters, including hurricanes and floods, but they have never "seen it so pervasive" with every city, state, and country involved.

Food Banks: Before and After The Pandemic

The Greater Boston Food Bank was handing out around a million pounds of food a week in about 550 food pantries before the pandemic.

D'Amato said that deliveries now have increased to 2.5 million pounds of food shipped weekly from its huge warehouse in South Boston.

In Norfolk County, a projected 168 percent rise in child hunger was seen, according to Feeding America. It is the biggest increase in the country.

The pandemic did not cause the country's hunger problem. However, it has aggravated the situation.

The executive director of the Weymouth Food Pantry, Pan Denholm, said the pressure on pantries had dramatically increased since March.

Denholm noted that the demand has greatly increased with the middle-class communities across America "being deeply affected."

According to Associated Press data, food banks are handing out meals at a fast pace. Some people are skipping meals so that their children can eat, and others depend on cheap food that has little to no nutrition.

Feeding America has doled out 4.2 billion meals from March through October. The organization has also seen a 60 percent average increase in food bank users during the pandemic.

Reports said about four out of 10 are first-timers in food banks. Feeding America estimates that those who experience hunger will peak to one in six people, from 35 million in 2019 to more than 50 million before the year ends.

For children, the organization said that one in four children would experience hunger in America.

Affected States

Some states have been impacted particularly hard, like Nevada. The state is projected to rise from 20th place in 2018 to 5th place this year when it comes to food security.

More than one in five residents in Mississippi, Arkansas, Alabama, and Louisiana, are seen to be food insecure by the end of the year. It means that residents from these states will no longer have money or resources to put food on the table.

Food Research & Action Center commissioned a report and found that one in four people reported that they don't have enough to eat, with incomes above $50,000 a year before the pandemic started.

The pandemic has not been kind for communities of color. Unemployment rose among Latinos to 18.9 percent this spring, which is higher than any racial and ethnic group.

More than one in five and Black Latino adults with children said that as of July 2020, they sometimes or often did not have enough to eat. This was double the rate of White and Asian households.