While food insecurity among adults in New York State declined slightly since the end of 2020, racial/ethnic disparities persist, a report from the New York State Health Foundation finds.

Based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau's COVID-19 Household Pulse Survey, the report, Continuing Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Food Scarcity in New York, found that 12 percent of respondents reported in March experiencing food scarcity — defined as not having enough to eat in their household — "sometimes" or "often" in the last seven days, down from a peak of 14 percent in December. According to the report, the two stimulus payments in the winter, the renewal of federal contributions supplementing state unemployment benefits, and a 15 percent increase in food stamp benefits appear to have helped more New Yorkers afford food. Still, the data showed stark racial ethnic disparities, with 29 percent of Latinx and 20 percent of Black adults reporting household food scarcity, compared with 8 percent of Asian-American and 5 percent of white households. Rates of food scarcity by income level in March ranged from 5.6 percent among households earning at least $100,000 annually to 29.2 percent among those earning less than $25,000, although the latter was down from a peak of 41 percent in February.

The study also found that food insecurity among households with children had worsened in March, with 20.7 percent reporting not being able to afford enough food — the highest rate since the survey began in June — including 33.8 percent of Latinx and 34.3 percent of Black households with children, compared with 13.2 percent of Asian-American and 9.8 percent of white households with children. Rates of child food scarcity by income ranged from 12.3 percent among households earning at least $100,000 to 36.5 percent among those earning less than $25,000.

In addition, the report found that respondents who reported a loss in household employment income since the start of the pandemic — which included 66 percent of Latinx, 56 percent of Black, 51 percent of Asian-American, and 43.4 percent of white respondents — were nearly three times as likely to experience food scarcity as those who did not lose employment income. According to the survey, 8.1 percent of respondents — including 19.5 percent of Latinx and 12.3 percent of Black respondents — said their households had accessed free meals or groceries during the previous week.

"Food insecurity levels have thankfully eased a bit since the height of the pandemic," said NYSHealth president and CEO David Sandman. "But the stark reality remains that millions of New Yorkers will go to bed hungry tonight or not knowing where their next meal is coming from. Without access to affordable and nutritious food, New Yorkers can't be healthy and thrive."