What is the Meal Gap, and Why Should I Care?
by Monica Palmer
Last month, Feeding America released the latest data for the Map the Meal Gap project, and it revealed startling information for Missouri. In our state, an average meal costs around $2.60. In order to bridge the gap and bring “food insecure” families to a place where they would be “food secure,” we would need an additional $474,080,000 to meet the food needs of all Missourians.
If the term “food insecurity” is unfamiliar, the USDA defines food insecurity as a lack of access, at times, to enough food for an active, healthy life for everyone in a household. The term can also refer to households with conditions where there is limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate foods.
Historically, those of us in the Feeding America network have used state and national level USDA food insecurity data to estimate the need, but our six Missouri food banks are rooted in our local communities and need better information at the ground level, so they can respond more efficiently to unique local conditions. If we only use the data of people falling below the federal poverty threshold, which has been the most common indicator for identifying the need for food at the local level, we don’t get the whole picture. Data reveals that about 55% of those struggling with hunger actually have incomes above the federal poverty level and 57% of poor households are considered food secure.
This information is very helpful, not only for Missouri’s food banks, but also for our elected officials. Take time to make yourself aware of the hunger needs in your county and your community. Then, take the next step and call your member of congress using the Feeding America toll free number: 888-398-8702 and encourage your congressman or woman to do the same.
Read more about the findings of Map the Meal Gap in our Executive Summary, see food insecurity by Congressional District or learn how we got this data.
