Hungry in New Hampshire

From Thanksgiving through Valentine’s Day, we Americans spike our long winter darkness with holidays, bowl games and other special events marked by feasting, food exchanges and a general celebration of abundance.

Yet, according to a report released November 19 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, last year 36.3 million Americans either went hungry or reported uncertainty about getting enough to eat at some point during the year. This figure includes 13 million children.

By national standards, New Hampshire , with the fourth-highest median household income in the nation, has a relatively low rate of hunger. Yet our state’s affluence masks the harsh truth that tens of thousands of Granite State residents can’t stretch their incomes to meet the basic food requirements for healthy living.

Hunger and food insecurity in New Hampshire

Although we don’t have hard data on hunger and food insecurity in New Hampshire , we can gauge its incidence through related indicators like these:

• A U.S. Census Bureau report issued last August estimated that 96,000 New Hampshire people lived below the federal poverty guidelines ($18, 850 for a family of four) at some point during 2003, up from 79, 200 in 2002 and 63,300 in 2000. Most of these people rely on a combination of government food assistance programs and emergency food providers to get enough to eat.
  
  
• The 2003 USDA Household Food security survey revealed that 45 percent of households reporting hunger or food insecurity have incomes above 130 percent of official poverty levels, meaning they probably don’t quality for federal food assistance programs.
  
  “We have real concerns for the thousands of people who earn just enough that they don’t qualify for food stamps and other government assistance programs,” says Val Long, Nutrition Coordinator for UNH Cooperative Extension’s Food Stamp Nutrition Education Program.
  
  “Steep increases in the costs of housing, fuel, transportation and healthcare, as well as food, haven’t been matched by increases in wages. A lot of working families have begun depending on emergency food pantries to feed their families. The emergency food system was intended to be just that: help for temporary emergencies. But people have begun relying on it chronically. That shouldn’t happen in the United States . It’s not an acceptable way to ensure that people are getting a nutritionally adequate diet that keeps them active and healthy.”
  
  
• In 2000, 36,266 New Hampshire residents received food stamps. By 2004, that number had risen to 48,449.
  
  
• Survey results released in December by the National Low Income Housing Coalition indicate that to afford the average two-bedroom apartment (including utilities) in New Hampshire , a worker must earn $16.75 per hour, more than three times the federal minimum wage.
  
  
• By the end of 2004, the New Hampshire Food Bank will have distributed about four million pounds of food to nonprofit and emergency food providers throughout New Hampshire —a million more pounds than last year, according to executive director Melanie Gosselin. “In one year, we expanded membership from 240 agencies to 342,” she says.

New Hampshire ’s emergency food providers

The federal government’s nutrition safety net, which includes the Food Stamp Program, the Women, Infants and Children Nutrition Program (WIC) and the School Meals Program, has traditionally built nutritious food and nutrition education into their programs.

In recent years, the net has frayed. Many low- and moderate-income people with incomes too high to qualify for food stamps and other government assistance programs can’t keep up with the escalating costs of housing, home heating fuel, and transportation. Responding to an increase in need, the state’s charitable emergency food system has grown dramatically in recent years.

Founded in 1984 as a program of Catholic Charities, the New Hampshire Food Bank serves as a centralized warehouse and distribution center for a network of nonprofit daycare centers, senior feeding sites, emergency food pantries, soup kitchens and homeless shelters.

The New Hampshire Food Bank maintains an affiliation with a nationwide network of more than 200 food banks and perishable food “rescue operations” called America ’s Second Harvest . The nationwide organization takes advantage of its collective buying and bargaining power, and today serves local agencies that feed needy people in every county in the U.S.

The New Hampshire Food Bank receives food from grocery stores, wholesalers, farmers and individuals, as well as cash donations from individuals, organizations and a variety of fundraising activities. The Food Bank requires its members to acquire nonprofit status, have refrigeration if they plan to store perishable foods, and undergo periodic inspections that ensure safe food handling practices. Agencies preparing food onsite must have state-certified commercial kitchens.

Some emergency food facilities offer classes that promote nutrition and cooking skills to the agencies and their clients. For example, a nationwide program called Operation Frontline, pairs nutritionists with chefs from local restaurants to teach cooking skills and nutrition to clients of emergency food pantries. UNH Cooperative Extension Nutrition Connections staff in Hillsborough and Rockingham counties have collaborated with Operation Frontline to teach classes which deliver nutrition education to Food Stamp clients.

In addition, some food pantries provide other services that range from cash assistance to meet emergency needs for housing, fuel, clothing, and medicine, to job training and health screenings and clinics.

Observations from the field

Persis Gow, the bookkeeper for St. Paul ’s Church Food Pantry in Concord , has noticed an increase in demand on the pantry in recent years and months. “In January 2004, we served people from 25 surrounding towns. In November, we had people from 30 towns,” she says. “In 2001 we added 363 new families—people we’d never seen before. Already this year we’ve had 400 new families, with December figures not in yet. In 2001 we served 3688 children under 18; in 2004, to date, we’ve had 4228.

Gow says people who visit the pantry include elders, single parents, and people with disabilities. “But lately, I’ve noted an increase in the number of traditional, stable, working families—mother, father and children, all with the same last name,” she says. “That’s new.”

Dot Hunt has served as treasurer of St. John’s St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry in Concord for the past 22 years. “There are at least 27 food pantries here in Merrimack County , and we’re all busy. Our numbers are up, with 400 new families this year. As many as 1200 individuals pass through each month,” she says. “We’re seeing more elderly, more working families and—what’s new for us—more single young people. Sometimes three or four single people will be living together and one will come in to get food for them all.”

Hunt says the pantry also provides emergency help with rent, medicine, fuel and clothing. “Usually I get about 12-14 requests a month for help with fuel and rent. But one month not too long ago, I had 60 calls. We’re seeing a lot of people facing eviction.”

2005 hunger study

In 2005, the N.H. Food Bank will participate in the Hunger in America Survey that America ’s Second Harvest conducts every four years. “This will be the first time New Hampshire has joined the survey,” says Erin Chamberlain, the N.H. Food Bank’s program services director. The two-part study will collect demographic data from face-to-face interviews with clients of emergency food pantries and soup kitchens, as well as from a survey of provider agencies themselves. “It will give us hard data about who is hungry in New Hampshire and how they deal with it,” says Chamberlain. “The study will also help us learn about what our member agencies are doing for the people in need and what more we could do for [the agencies].”

If you or someone you know needs food

If you face a family food emergency, or know someone who does, find the most available source of food. Call the Nutrition Connections staff person in your county or call your town hall and ask how and where to apply for local welfare. If you have children in school, go to the school nurse for help finding out whether your children qualify for free or reduced lunches. The New Hampshire Assistance Handbook offers sections on eligibility and how to sign up for food stamps WIC, and other government assistance programs.

 

If you want to help

Besides educating yourself about the extent of hunger and food insecurity in your own community, you can also participate in a local food drive, contribute cash to the Food Bank, or volunteer your time at a food pantry or soup kitchen.

Donating directly to the N.H. Food Bank instead of purchasing food products yourself increases the buying power of your donations. “A $10 donation to the N.H. Food Bank will buy 40 meals for hungry people,” says Gosselin. “Our buying power allows us to sell food to local pantries at only 18 cents a pound.”

Since most local pantries or soup kitchens run on volunteer labor, citizens can also consider donating time. Call to find out if an emergency food provider near you (link to list of emergency food providers) needs help.

Resources 

Nutrition Connections
This list connects you with UNH Cooperative Extension county staff who provide nutrition education to low-income individuals and families in New Hampshire. Staff can help connect you with emergency food resources.

New Hampshire Food Bank
New Hampshire ’s only food bank; warehouses and distributes food to a statewide network of 342 member agencies.

 

America ’s Second Harvest - America’s Food Bank Network
A nationwide network of more than 200 food banks and “food rescue” operations.

Serve New England
An “alternative to food shopping” that offers families of any income level deep discounts on major brand name foods in exchange for at least two hours of volunteer service each month. New Hampshire has 35 pick-up locations. You can buy a package of frozen meats, fresh fruits and vegetables at about half the grocery store price. No limit on how much food you can buy. Call 1-800-603-4855 for nearest location.

New Hampshire Assistance Handbook

Published in 2003, but updated for 2004, the handbook contains a listing of critical resources for people in need, including food assistance, shelters for the homeless and for battered women, nutrition education, legal assistance, fuel assistance, social services, and much more.

Kids Café
A service of the Salvation Army. Serves dinner to needy Manchester children, followed by an hour of crafts or games, four nights a week

The Paradox of Hunger and Obesity in America
Obese, but hungry and malnourished? This paper, issued jointly by Brandeis University ’s Center on Hunger and Poverty and the Food Research & Action Center , helps explain the apparent paradox of how dual threats of hunger and obesity can co-exist in individuals and families.

By Peg Boyles, UNH Cooperative Extension writer/editor, and Helen Costello, Food Security Coordinator

See also: "It can happen to anybody."