Many Hurdles for Families With Food Challenges, Poll Shows

September 25, 2021






Americans who have a hard time affording food also feel less confident than others about their ability to get healthy food. Just 27% say they are "very" or "extremely" confident, compared with 87% of those who do not face food challenges.


Barraza, 34, quit her job as a waitress before the pandemic when her son was born. She considered going back to work, but on-and-off child care shortages as the pandemic took hold made that impossible, she said. The family lives off her husband's salary as a mechanic while receiving assistance from SNAP — the government program commonly known as food stamps.


"If we don't always have vegetables, he's going to not want to eat them in the future. And then I worry that he's not going to get enough vitamins from vegetables in the future or now for his growing body. So it's really hard. It's just really hard," she said. 



She decided to do distance learning with her three children home because of fears about COVID-19 outbreaks in the schools, so that removed school lunches from the equation. Her work responsibilities prevent her from picking up free lunches offered by the school district. She takes care of her disabled brother, who lives with them and does receive SNAP benefits. But Mornes said that $284 a month "lasts about a week and a half."

They try to eat healthy, but budget considerations sometimes lead her to prioritize cost and longevity with "canned soups, maybe noodles — things that last and aren't so expensive," she said. 


"It's all new to them," she said. "Many individuals and families — especially those experiencing food insecurity for the first time — are unaware of their full range of options."



The dependence on convenience stores is a particularly troubling dynamic, Muthiah said, because the options there are both more expensive and generally less nutritious. Part of the issue is simply habit, but a much larger problem is the lack of proper grocery stores in "food deserts" that exist in poorer parts of many cities. 

"Sometimes they are the only quick efficient option for many people to get food," she said. "But they don't get the full range of what they need from a convenience store and that leads to a lot of negative health outcomes." 




"I make sure my truck payment is done," said Ortiz, as he sat in a line of about 30 cars waiting to pick up food from a charitable organization, Barrios Unidos, in nearby Chimayó. "After that I, I, just eat like once a day," he said, pointing to his stomach. "That's why you see me I'm so thin now."


"It's been depressing. It's been, like, stressful and I get anxiety," he said. "Like, I can't wait to get a job. I don't care what it is right now."







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