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09.15.21_Advisory Team Agenda & Notes.docx

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08.18.21_Advisory Team Agenda & Notes.docx

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07.21.21_Advisory Team Agenda & Notes.docx

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9.22.21 Food Access Coalition Agenda & Notes

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Monadnock Region Food Access Analysis Maps

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Monadnock Region Food Access Analysis Maps

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2021 MONADNOCK REGION FOOD ACCESS ANALYSIS

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New Hampshire Children's Health Foundation

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The Monadnock Region Food Access Analysis provides a comprehensive analysis of assets and gaps in children's and families' food security programs in the Monadnock Region. The analysis was conducted by Southwest Region Planning Commission during the spring of 2021 on behalf of the Monadnock Children's Food Access Alliance (Alliance). A newly published report includes the findings of the analysis. The Alliance will use the report findings to develop a Food Access Plan that fills identified gaps in programs and services and outlines funding opportunities.

The report contains a detailed description of the present food access system in the Monadnock Region including:

1) Household food insecurity and related demographic data

2) Region-wide inventory of food access points, programs, and services

3) Maps depicting connections and gaps within the food access system

4) Alliance network assessment

5) Description of food access system models and best practices.
READ REPORT >

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New report analyzes Monadnock Region food access - New Hampshire Children's Health Foundation

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The Monadnock Region Food Access Analysis provides a comprehensive analysis of assets and gaps in children's and families' food security programs in the Monadnock Region. The analysis was conducted by Southwest Region Planning Commission during the spring of 2021 on behalf of the Monadnock Children's Food Access Alliance (Alliance).

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NHFAC Participation & Engagement Survey Results

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NHFAC Participation & Engagement Survey Results

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NHFAC Participation and Engagement Survey

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8.25.21 Food Access Coalition Agenda & Notes

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7.28.21 Food Access Coalition Agenda & Notes

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National Food Access and COVID Research Team

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National Food Access and COVID Research Team

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Encyclopedia of policy briefs about food access and COVID

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Examining food access and food security during COVID-19

Summary

The National Food Access and COVID research Team (NFACT) is a collaboration of researchers across 15 states exploring the impact of COVID-19 on food access, food security and food systems. NFACT research is examining these impacts across local, state, regional and national levels and is integrating data to explore outcomes and impacts across scales. NFACT is committed to rigorous, comparative, and timely food access research during the time of COVID. We do this through collaborative, open access platforms and research that prioritizes communication to key decision-makers while building our scientific understanding of food system behaviors and policies.

NFACT was founded to bring together existing and new research efforts exploring the effect of COVID-19 on food security and systems in the United States. The NFACT collaborators are all implementing a common survey , in whole or part across 17 study sites, and data will be aggregated for large scale analyses. NFACT was also founded on three core principles: 1) Engage with stakeholders from the beginning, 2)Make the work open access to facilitate collaboration, and 3) Prioritize public communication outputs (e.g. policy briefs) to help contribute to ongoing policy and decision-making. NFACT is led by Dr. Meredith Niles at The University of Vermont and governed by an executive team.

Quick Links

Latest Policy Briefs

​

Below are the latest releases of NFACT policy briefs as part of our ongoing effort to simultaneously perform rigorous research and inform policymakers.

Four briefs on food security and COVID-19 from national data

Impacts of COVID-19 on Food Security in Arizona

COVID-19 Impacts on Food Security and Systems: A Third Survey of Vermonters

Publications

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Below are the latest releases of NFACT publications and pre-print publications.

Primary and Secondary Health Impacts of COVID-19 Among Minority Individuals in New York State

Food insecurity during COVID-19: A multi-state research collaborative

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Research Collaboration | National Food Access and COVID Research Team

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Examining food access and food security during COVID-19 Summary The National Food Access and COVID research Team (NFACT) is a collaboration of researchers across 15 states exploring the impact of COVID-19 on food access, food security and food systems. NFACT research is examining these impacts across local, state, regional and national levels and is integrating data to explore outcomes and impacts across scales.

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6.23.21 Food Access Coalition Agenda & Notes

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05.26.21 Food Access Coalition Agenda & Notes

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Committees and Contact info

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2021 NH Legislators - Committees & Contact

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04.28.21 Food Access Coalition Agenda & Notes

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Google form to sign-up to participate in advocacy for SB98

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Agenda & notes

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03.24.21 Food Access Coalition Agenda & Notes

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Farm to School reimbursement bill talking points

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Farm to School reimbursement bill talking points

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Why  We Need a Reimbursement Program to Incentivize Local Food Purchases for our Schools

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 Farm to School Reimbursement Policy Details[3]

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Frameworks Institute

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NHHS Training on Hunger and Food Insecurity Messaging

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NHHS Training on Hunger and Food Insecurity Messaging

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Passcode: eT+1$uVB

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Video Conferencing, Web Conferencing, Webinars, Screen Sharing

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Zoom is the leader in modern enterprise video communications, with an easy, reliable cloud platform for video and audio conferencing, chat, and webinars across mobile, desktop, and room systems. Zoom Rooms is the original software-based conference room solution used around the world in board, conference, huddle, and training rooms, as well as executive offices and classrooms. Founded in 2011, Zoom helps businesses and organizations bring their teams together in a frictionless environment to get more done.

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NH FAC Check-in 2/24/21 - Google Jamboard

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02.24.21 Food Access Coalition Agenda & Notes

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Food policy database, resources, and case studies

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The Healthy Food Policy Project identifies and elevates local laws that seek to promote access to healthy food, and also contribute to strong local economies, an improved environment, and health equity, with a focus on socially disadvantaged and marginalized groups.

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Findings of the 2019 National Food Hub Survey

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Findings of the 2019 National Food Hub Survey

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Michigan State University - Dec 18, 2020

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Findings of the 2019 National Food Hub Survey

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December 18, 2020 - Author: , , John Fisk, Justin Fast, and Pam Sanders

Since 2012, Michigan State University's Center for Regional Food Systems and the Wallace Center at Winrock International have conducted the National Food Hub Survey, the primary source for national longitudinal data about food hubs.

The 2019 survey builds on results from 2013, 2015, and 2017 to identify trends in food hub operations, economic growth and viability, social mission, and opportunities and challenges faced by food hubs nationwide.

The 2019 survey contains several significant revisions, including new questions on t he role that food hubs play (or do not play) in addressing racial equity in their communities and barriers to new institutional market opportunities. In order to dig deeper on this topic, a qualitative companion study that uses interviews with food hub practitioners and scholars was conducted concurrently to the 2019 National Food Hub Survey. We encourage interested readers to seek out this additional resource, titled Delivering More Than Food: Understanding and Operationalizing Racial Equity in Food Hubs that was published in August 2020.

Overall, the number of questions in the 2019 survey was cut by two thirds, greatly reducing the time it took food hubs to complete the survey questionnaire. The resulting survey report is proportionally shorter than previous reports and focuses primarily on highlighting new findings and reconfirming noteworthy trends from previous surveys.

Additional figures have been provided in Appendix A for readers wishing to further explore the survey data. Our goal was to create a more streamlined report format that is useful and accessible to a wider range of current and future food hub operators, partner organizations, policy makers, funders, and community members.
Download Report Download Appendices
Executive Summary
This executive summary is also available for download as a PDF.
The 2019 National Food Hub Survey is the fourth biennial survey of food hubs in the United States and the primary source for longitudinal data on this business sector.

This report was nearing completion in March 2020 and therefore does not address the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis in detail. Please see the epilogue for the authors' reflections on the role food hubs have played in supporting and enhancing the resiliency of local and regional food systems throughout the pandemic. We encourage readers to consider this context as they read the report, which offers a unique snapshot of pre-COVID food hub operations. This executive summary distills the top-level findings and themes from the 2019 National Food Hub Survey report.

1. The food hub sector continues to thrive and mature.

The proportion of hubs over 5 years old has increased since 2013 (Figure 1).

Established hubs employ more people (Figure 5) and total paid, full-time employees have increased overall (Figure 6).

Two thirds of hubs were breaking even or better (Page 29).

Virtually no hubs reported being denied loans or short-term lines of credit, although more than half of respondents did not apply for either type of debt capital (Figure 21).

Of the one third of hubs that are highly dependent on grant funding to carry out their core functions, about two thirds are nonprofits (Figure 16).

2. Hubs are pursuing social and environmental goals.

Nearly half of hubs track metrics on their social and environmental impact (Page 25).

50% of hubs have some sales to lower-income customers or businesses in lower-income areas (Figure 23).

Hubs are actively engaging their communities in decision making and making regenerative investments (Figure 26).

54% of food hub management positions were held by women, and 14% were held by people of color (Page 20).

3. Supporting farm and supplier viability is important to hubs.

Surveyed food hubs collectively purchased or procured products from 2,861 farms and ranches (Page 22).

Hubs reported $31.8 million in purchases in 2018 from small and midsized farms (Figure 11).

92% of hubs said at least half of their farm and ranch suppliers were small or midsized (Figure 10).

Hubs are focused on the following (Figure 9):

Product quality

Product consistency

Sustainable production methods

Price

4. Hubs see room for growth, but challenges remain.

82% of hubs say demand for their products and services has grown in the past two years (Figure 29).

Sales to colleges/universities and K-12 food service were up compared to previous survey data, but direct-to-consumer sales and sales to large supermarkets were down sharply (Figure 14).

Most hubs expected competition to grow, particularly from traditional wholesale distributors (Figure 31).

Meeting buyer pricing requirements is the largest challenge to expanding sales in institutional markets (Figures 32-34).

Trends and Takeaways

Overall, we see several trends and takeaways emerging from the 2019 National Food Hub Survey data. We hope these insights are useful for food hub managers and practitioners and help inform future research.

Sales to institutional markets continue to show great promise, but growth is uneven across institution type (Figure 14), despite many common barriers (Figures 32-34). With mounting interest and investment in hospitals and early care and education (ECE) centers, we expect to see hubs adapting lessons and successful practices from other institutional markets, such as universities and K-12 school food service.

Many hubs are focused primarily on selling fresh produce and herbs, which account for half of all sales (Figure 13). At the same time, seasonality of fruits and vegetables is one of the top three barriers to entering institutional markets (Figures 32-34), indicating a rising demand for lightly processed produce.

Food hubs have ranked "balancing supply and demand" as their top challenge across all four surveys (Figure 30). However, balancing supply and demand is the essential function of a food hub and encompasses a wide range of activities and factors. Unpacking the deeper meaning of this phrase is necessary to better understand specific operational limitations hubs are facing.

Suggested Citation

Bielaczyc, N., Pirog, R., Fisk, J., Fast, J. & Sanders, P. (2020). Findings of the 2019 national food hub survey. Michigan State University Center for Regional Food Systems & Wallace Center at Winrock International. https://foodsystems.msu.edu/resources/2019-food-hub-survey
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Tags: center for regional food systems, food hubs, michigan food hub learning and innovation network, michigan food hub network, national food hub survey

Related Topic Areas

Michigan Food Hub Network, Michigan Food Hub Learning and Innovation Network, National Food Hub Survey

Authors

For more information visit:

Center for Regional Food Systems

Accessibility Questions:

For questions about accessibility and/or if you need additional accommodations for a specific document, please send an email to ANR Communications & Marketing at anrcommunications@anr.msu.edu.

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michigan food hub learning and innovation network

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Findings of the 2019 National Food Hub Survey

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DOWNLOAD FILE December 18, 2020 - Author: , , John Fisk, Justin Fast, and Pam Sanders Since 2012, Michigan State University's Center for Regional Food Systems and the Wallace Center at Winrock International have conducted the National Food Hub Survey, the primary source for national longitudinal data about food hubs.

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Food Insecurity and Economic Conditions in New Hampshire and the Nation

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Food Insecurity and Economic Conditions in New Hampshire and the Nation

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NH Fiscal Policy Institute - Dec 2020

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Food insecurity is a measure that estimates the number of households experiencing a lack of food due to insufficient money or other resources over time. This measure generally correlates with overall economic conditions, and those families and individuals who are most effected by economic declines are more likely to experience food insecurity. Food insecurity has profound negative effects on children and adults alike, and compounds hardship for individuals and families.

Following the Great Recession, which lasted from late 2007 to mid-2009, food insecurity levels increased nationwide. As the recovery from the Great Recession progressed, levels of food insecurity appeared to remain elevated in New Hampshire despite declining steadily around the nation. Limited income growth for low-wage workers, affected by both changes in employment opportunities and public policy, resulted in the economic recovery from the Great Recession taking longer to reach more vulnerable Granite Staters, and may have contributed to a delayed decline in food insecurity in New Hampshire.

In more recent years, data show that New Hampshire's food insecurity levels began declining prior to the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, correlating with the rebound in the purchasing power for lower wages and overall improvements to economic conditions relative to before the Great Recession. However, the current COVID-19 crisis has disproportionately impacted the economic stability of more vulnerable Granite Staters, and may lead to further increases in food insecurity levels, potentially greater than those experienced during the Great Recession and recovery. Key policies and programs that provide support to individuals and families during times of economic decline will be critical to respond to increased needs during and after the current crisis.

This Issue Brief explores the trends in food insecurity levels in New Hampshire, New England, and the nation during the Great Recession and subsequent recovery, and identifies groups of people that may face higher levels of food insecurity. Analysis in this Issue Brief identifies elevated levels of food insecurity in New Hampshire during the recovery from the Great Recession, and outlines key economic trends, such as inflation-adjusted wage growth and employment opportunities, and policies in New Hampshire and other New England states that may be linked to this trend. This Issue Brief identifies several effects of the current COVID-19 crisis in New Hampshire, changes in food scarcity levels, and the additional need for economic and nutritional aid; this analysis also discusses nutritional aid and other policies that work to combat food insecurity.

Impacts of Food Insecurity

The Negative Effects of Food Insecurity

A lack of stable access to food has negative effects on children and adults, both physiologically and psychologically. Adults who experience food insecurity are likely to have lower levels of overall health.[iv] Food insecure adults also tend to work in the low-wage labor market and face additional economic and nutritional challenges.[v] Children experiencing hunger at home are more likely to experience developmental impairments, perform poorly in school, have more behavioral and social problems than their food secure peers, and have adverse health outcomes. Research examining the long-term effect of youth food insecurity shows a greater likelihood of disadvantages these children may face later in life. Individuals who experienced food insecurity as children tend to have lower overall quality of life as adults compared to individuals who were food secure as a child.[vi]

Individuals and Families Impacted by Food Insecurity

Food insecurity most commonly results from a lack of resources to afford food. This lack of resources can come in the form of long-term poverty or limited income, or from sudden changes in financial situations brought on by economic shocks and recessions. Certain groups of individuals and families experience economic hardships, such as poverty, at higher rates, and others are at greater risk of falling into poverty or economic hardship as well due to their work situation or other strains on their finances. As food insecurity is closely tied to economic stability and well-being, individuals and families with the lowest incomes and those living in or near poverty are the most likely to be impacted.[ix]

National data representing the most recent estimates of household food insecurity in the United States show that certain groups experienced heightened levels of food insecurity. These 2019 data show that 10.5 percent of households nationally indicated experiencing food insecurity in that prior 12 months. These data also show that all households with children, regardless of other factors, faced higher levels of food insecurity than households without children, with 13.6 percent of households with children experiencing food insecurity. Households with young children under the age of six years experienced even higher levels of food insecurity, at 14.5 percent nationally. Households with children where only a single parent was present also faced higher levels of food insecurity overall, with single male-headed households with children experiencing a food insecurity rate of 15.4 percent, and single female-headed households having a rate nearly double that level, at 28.7 percent.[x]

Households headed by single individuals who lived alone faced higher levels of food insecurity, at 13 percent and 12.8 percent for women and men, respectively. Households headed by individuals identifying as Hispanic or African American also experienced higher levels of food insecurity, at 15.6 percent and 19.1 percent, respectively, while households headed by individuals identifying as white and non-Hispanic overall experienced food insecurity at much lower rates. Additionally, households experiencing poverty or living just above poverty-level incomes experience household food insecurity at the highest estimated levels. The national data show that 27.6 percent of households earning under the 2019 federal poverty thresholds, which was $20,578 for a household of three with one child, experienced food insecurity. Households with incomes just above federal poverty thresholds, up to 1.85 times the threshold levels, also experienced much higher levels of food insecurity than households with higher incomes, indicating that poverty and lower levels of income and resources are correlated with food insecurity.[xi],

While official estimates for household food insecurity breakdowns by age, disability, origin, and racial and ethnic group are not available at the state level, analyzing the disparities between poverty among different groups in New Hampshire may provide insights into how prevalent food insecurity is within those groups. Estimated poverty rates and median household incomes over the five-year period from 2014 to 2018 provide reliable statewide estimates of the economic challenges facing certain groups of Granite Staters. Over this period in New Hampshire, children, people living with disabilities, and those identifying as a race or ethnicity other than white and non-Hispanic experienced poverty at higher rates than estimates for the state overall. Households with children and a single parent present also faced higher levels of poverty; for example, approximately one in three households headed by a single women with a child or children under five years old present were in poverty during this period.[xiii] Additionally, median household income estimates over this same period show that Hispanic- and African American-headed households, households headed by individuals identifying as two or more races, households headed by older adults, and households comprised of single parents with children all had estimated median household incomes lower than the statewide median.[xiv] These disparities in poverty and income among groups likely result in similar trends of household food insecurity by group as they do on the national level.

Food Insecurity Across Geographies

National estimates, prior to the COVID-19 crisis, showed that households in large cities and in rural areas experienced higher levels of food insecurity than the overall national average, at 12.1 percent and 12.4 percent, respectively. Households outside principal cities in metropolitan areas and in more suburban areas faced lower estimated levels, at 8.3 percent.[xv] Official estimates for household food insecurity in sub-state areas are not available, but other estimates utilizing modeling to assess food insecurity identify regions of New Hampshire that may have higher concentrations of food insecure households. Using modeling based on other existing data, northern and western counties in New Hampshire have been estimated to have higher levels of food insecurity than the state overall.[xvi]

Food Insecurity Levels Throughout the Great Recession and Recovery

Official estimates of household food insecurity are calculated by the USDA through an annual survey. Households are considered food insecure if they indicated that at some point in the last year, they were unable to acquire adequate food for one or more household members because they had insufficient money and other resources for food. Data for estimates are compiled from responses collected through the annual Food Security Supplement of the Current Population Survey, which is conducted by the United States Census Bureau and the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. When measuring food insecurity at the national level, estimates for a single year can be reliably calculated. However, when comparing state-level food insecurity estimates, the average of the last three years is used in order to improve reliability, due to smaller sample sizes at the state level than for the nation as a whole.[xx] Prior to the Great Recession, food insecurity levels hovered around 11 percent in the nation, 9 percent in the six New England states combined, and 7 percent in New Hampshire. The Great Recession resulted in large increases in food insecurity levels across the nation. Household food insecurity levels peaked nationally during the single year period of 2011, where an estimated 14.9 percent of households indicated difficultly affording and acquiring food at some point. In New England, estimated levels of food insecurity peaked during the 2010-2012 period and in New Hampshire, food insecurity peaked over the 2011-2013 period, when an estimated 10.2 percent of households in the state were food insecure.[xxi]

When comparing three-year periods as a rolling average across all geographies, national estimates of food insecurity peaked in the years following the end of the Recession, over the period from 2010-2012, with an estimated level of 14.7 percent. In New Hampshire, estimated household food insecurity peaked somewhat later, over the 2011-2013 period, with an estimated level of 10.2 percent. Nationally, food insecurity levels started a slow, steady, and statistically significant decline beginning in the 2011-2013 period, and continued through the 2017-2019 period. In New Hampshire, food insecurity levels remained elevated over much of this time range, and did not begin to decline significantly until the 2016-2018 period, when the state experienced a statistically significant decrease in estimated food insecurity. Only in this period did New Hampshire return to pre-Recession levels of household food insecurity. By the 2017-2019 period, estimates for New Hampshire continued to decline. Despite these more recent significant declines in household food insecurity levels experienced in New Hampshire during the 2016-2018 and 2017-2019 periods, levels remained elevated for a longer period of time than the nation as a whole. In Vermont and Connecticut, food insecurity was higher overall than New Hampshire's rate, yet appeared to decline in a more consistent manner, similar to the nation overall. While food insecurity levels in the nation experienced steady and statistically significant declines in food insecurity since the 2011-2013 period, New Hampshire's household food insecurity levels appear to have not declined until more recently.[xxii]

Elevated Food Insecurity Levels in New Hampshire During the Recovery

Estimated levels of food insecurity appear to have remained elevated for a longer period of time in New Hampshire than in the nation overall during the recovery from the Great Recession. When comparing the period over period changes in estimated household food insecurity, New Hampshire appears to have experienced more persistent elevated food insecurity levels than other geographies. This differentiation results from a comparison of midpoint estimates, so the potential for overlapping margin of error exists.

As seen in these data, household food insecurity levels increased during the Great Recession, shown as positive percentage point increases from the prior period as shown in the adjacent graph. When a line is above the horizontal axis, food insecurity increased between those two periods, and decreased when below the horizontal axis. The further away from the horizontal axis, the greater the magnitude of these changes. For example, from the 2004-2006 period to the 2005-2007 period, household food insecurity decreased by 0.3 percent, shown as a dip in the orange line representing the nation below the axis. Then from the 2005-2007 period to the 2006-2008 period, estimated household food insecurity food insecurity increased by 1.3 percentage points compared to prior period. As shown in this graph, over the periods lasting from 2010 to 2017, estimated household food insecurity levels in New Hampshire appear to have remained elevated and declined at a slower rate than the nation.

Comparing food insecurity levels for each period of data relative to a point before the Great Recession also reveals this phenomenon in the midpoint estimates. The 2004-2006 period encompasses the latest set of pre-Great Recession years, and indexing to this period permits the relative change in food insecurity compared to before the Great Recession to be calculated with a common baseline. For example, during the 2008-2010 period in the graph below, the nation's food insecurity rate was about 29 percent higher than the rate nationally during the 2004-2006 period. Additionally, in New Hampshire, the food insecurity rate during the 2010-2012 period was about 34 percent higher than it was in the state during the 2004-2006 period. Therefore, compared to pre-Great Recession levels, New Hampshire experienced higher relative levels of food insecurity throughout most of the economic recovery compared to the nation, over the same 2010-2017 set of periods as identified in the chart and analysis above. As noted previously, this does not mean that estimated household food insecurity levels in New Hampshire were higher than the nation, but New Hampshire's food insecurity levels experienced larger and longer relative percent increases than the nation, compared to relative pre-Great Recession

Uneven Economic Recovery from the Great Recession

Several trends in New Hampshire throughout the recovery from the Great Recession may be correlated with the food insecurity trends identified above. Despite New Hampshire's economic recovery from the Great Recession following a positive trajectory for most economic indicators, including Gross State Product, overall employment, and decreasing unemployment levels, several key factors lead to the positive effects of the recovery being delayed in reaching those with fewer resources and lower incomes or wages.[xxiv] These factors may have contributed to estimated household food insecurity levels in New Hampshire remaining elevated for longer than in the nation as a whole.

Shifts in Job Opportunities

The Great Recession led to the decline of certain industries in New Hampshire and negatively impacted the wages of many workers. Significant job growth since the Great Recession through to 2019 has occurred in industries with average wages lower than the statewide average weekly wage. Between 2008, the onset of the direct industry employment impacts of the recession, and 2019, the highest levels of private sector job growth were identified in Health Care and Social Assistance, Administrative and Waste Services, Professional and Technical Services, and Accommodation and Food Services. In three of these four industries, the average weekly wages were below the statewide average in 2019. Substantial declines in employment in key industries with higher-than-average wages occurred over this same period. The industry that experienced the largest decline in employment throughout the recovery from the Great Recession was Manufacturing (not shown in the figure), which on average is an industry that pays significantly higher than the average statewide weekly wage.[xxv]

Uneven Recovery of Income and Wages

Employment changes throughout the recovery from the Great Recession are flanked by changes in wages and purchasing power, also described as inflation-adjusted or "real" wages, among different earning groups. These income categories are calculated yearly, and averaging three years of data provides more reliable insights into overall, point-to-point changes. Earning groups can be quantified through wage deciles, where the 50 th percentile wage, or median wage, represents the middle wage earned among workers in New Hampshire. Deciles are used to show the changes in wages across the distribution of hourly earnings from work.

Over 2017-2019, the 50 th percentile, or median, wage in the Granite State was equivalent to about $20.52 per hour, where half of the workers in the state earned more than this amount and half earned less. The 10 th percentile equivalent wage over 2017-2019 in New Hampshire was $10.43 per hour, meaning that 10 percent of workers earned this wage or less and 90 percent of workers earned more than this wage. The 90 th percentile equivalent wage over 2017-2019 in New Hampshire was $48.93 per hour, meaning that 10 percent of workers earned this wage or more, and 90 percent of workers earned less than this wage. Comparing the changes in real wages in New Hampshire from before the Great Recession to the end of the economic recovery in 2019, prior to the COVID-19 crisis, provides insights into the overall change in the purchasing power of wages for different earning groups. Over the period comparing 2004-2006 real wages and 2017-2019 real wages, earnings among workers in New Hampshire who were paid the median wage or less had just recovered to levels earned prior to the recession. In contrast, higher wage earners had experienced significant increases in their real wages and purchasing power compared to before the Great Recession.

Comparing pre-Great Recession real wages to the latest, pre-COVID-19 wage levels shows only the point-to-point changes, but it does not show how different earning groups fared throughout the recovery. As food insecurity impacts individuals and families with lower incomes or who are in poverty more acutely, analyzing how lower-income workers' wages in New Hampshire changed throughout the recovery from the Great Recession may provide insights into the state's food insecurity trends over this time. Workers earning 20 th percentile wages throughout the recovery represent those who earned the 2019 equivalent of about $12.60 per hour. The 20 th percentile also indicates that 20 percent of all workers in New Hampshire earned below this equivalent rate, and 80 percent earned above it. This percentile encompassed many low-income workers and many workers who may be experiencing poverty if they are the sole income earner for a household, especially for a household with children or many members.

When indexed to one year before Great Recession, the relative percent changes in the purchasing power of the 20 th percentile declined and stayed suppressed for much of the economic recovery, indicating that lower income earners may not have fared as well as higher wage workers during this period. The decline in the 20 th percentile real wages was more severe in New Hampshire than experienced in New England as a whole and the nation. This trend indicates that, throughout the recovery, lower income workers in New Hampshire experienced relatively more severe declines in their real wages. These same lower income wages did not recover to pre-Great Recession levels until after the recovery of lower wages in New England as a whole and the nation. Wages at the 10 th percentile, and up to the 50 th percentile representing median wages, trended in a similar fashion to the 20 th percentile for New Hampshire, New England overall, and throughout the nation.[xxvi]

Wage Decline Contributions to Food Insecurity Trends

Many factors affected the extent to which the economic recovery reached individuals and families. However, certain policies present in other states may have contributed directly to the faster rebound and growth of low wages and provided increased support for individuals and families with fewer resources outside of New Hampshire. As a result, policies not present in New Hampshire may have resulted in food insecurity levels declining faster in other states and the nation overall relative to New Hampshire. Some of these policies in other states that may have aided in boosting the economic security of lower income individuals and families, who are most susceptible to food insecurity, include wage increases and direct aid.[xxxi]

The Role of Nutritional Aid Programs

While many policies can provide aid to individuals and families with limited resources or economic stability, the largest program specifically designed to combat food insecurity nationally is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). SNAP is a national food assistance program for households with permanent or temporary economic hardships and low incomes, and is the most effective tool currently helping to mitigate food insecurity.[xxxvi] This program was critical to providing support and direct nutritional aid throughout the economic recovery from the Great Recession. SNAP is known in New Hampshire as The Food Stamp Program and provides approximately 70,000 Granite Staters with vital nutritional aid.[xxxvii]

During the Great Recession and recovery lasting up through 2019, enrollment in SNAP rose on account of the additional economic hardships and resulting increases in food insecurity. The benefits provided through SNAP did more than directly support individuals and families requiring nutritional aid; these benefits also stimulated the weak economy and aided the economic recovery. Analysis of stimulus policies during the Great Recession showed that for every dollar invested into new SNAP benefits, individuals and families were directly supported and $1.74 of economic activity was generated.[xxxviii] Benefits provided by this key nutritional aid program supported many Granite Staters, but without additional policies as seen in other states throughout the recovery, may have responded to food insecurity less effectively. Additionally, these benefits may not be enough to cover the costs of meals for individuals and families facing food insecurity. Maximum benefits are only provided to households with the fewest resources, including those that indicate no income. Currently, a household of three people in New Hampshire with the greatest levels of need would receive a maximum benefit of $535, or $1.98 per person per meal.[xxxix]

Additional programs targeted at providing nutritional aid specifically to students from households with lower incomes are key free and reduced-price school meal programs. In New Hampshire, the percentage of students eligible for free and reduced-price lunches rose from under 20 percent just prior to the Great Recession to nearly 29 percent eligible in 2014, due in part to expanded SNAP eligibility and automatic verification with SNAP as well as changing economic conditions. During 2019, just under 25 percent of New Hampshire school children were eligible.[xl]

SNAP and free and reduced-price school meal programs were critical in helping ensure children and adults who faced food insecurity throughout the recovery from the Great Recession had greater access to food. Other key policies that boosted the wages of lower income earners and provided additional direct supports to individuals and families worked alongside SNAP to respond to the increased economic hardships caused by the Great Recession. In conjunction with improving economic factors, the food insecurity declines experienced over the periods lasting from 2015 to 2017 were significant, yet potentially may have been accelerated with additional policy actions throughout the recovery from the Great Recession.

The COVID-19 Crisis and Food Insecurity

The current COVID-19 crisis has resulted in profound challenges to the health and economic well-being of many Granite Staters. The impacts of the pandemic and subsequent economic recession have been most acute on vulnerable populations throughout the state, and the impacts on food insecurity have likely been very significant. Unprecedented declines in employment and historic increases in unemployment have been the most dramatic economic impacts as businesses, schools, hospitals, and other institutions have been required to limit non-essential in-person interactions. The impacts on the incomes of individuals and families have been profound, with the most acute impacts on groups with the fewest resources. Key policies such as expanded unemployment compensation aided in supporting many impacted Granite Staters, yet many economic challenges remain. Nutritional aid programs are critical to supporting Granite Staters throughout this current crisis just as they were critical in supporting individuals, families, and the economic recovery from the Great Recession.[xli]

Impacts on Economically Vulnerable Populations

Need for Economic Assistance and Nutritional Aid

As many Granite Staters continue to face economic and financial challenges as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, the levels of need for assistance and supports have risen. According to the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, which manages many of the means-tested aid programs in the state (including SNAP, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Medicaid, and child care assistance), the total number of unduplicated open cases for assistance has consistently risen since the COVID-19 crisis began.[xlvi]

In addition to the increased caseloads for economic assistance in New Hampshire, beginning in April, the United States Census Bureau began collecting the first phase of weekly survey data targeted at understanding the effects of the COVID-19 crisis on households. This first phase of the weekly Household Pulse Survey was conducted from April 23 to July 21, and a second phase of surveys and data collection was conducted from August 19 through October 26.[xlvii] A third phase of data collection has been approved to gather additional data.[xlviii]

Based on the responses from the first phase of the survey, the United States Census Bureau has estimated widespread income losses among Granite Staters since the pandemic began. Over these initial 12 weeks, nearly half of New Hampshire respondents reported a reduction in household income from employment since March 13, 2020.[xlix] During mid-July, about one in five households expected a decline in incomes during the next four weeks because of the pandemic. The first release of data from the second phase of the survey indicates that many of the challenges experienced by Granite Staters lingered into October. Over the period from October 14 to October 26, about one in five households expected a decline in income during the next four weeks because of the pandemic, over 30 percent of households indicated an eviction or foreclosure is at least somewhat likely in the next two months, and about a quarter of households indicated a difficulty in affording regular household expenses in the last seven days.[l]

While this survey does not directly capture food insecurity, it reflects many hardships facing Granite Staters during the COVID-19 crisis. Another key indicator this survey measures is food scarcity, which is defined by the United States Census Bureau in this survey as "difficulty in affording food in the last seven days". This condition is more severe than the traditional measure of food insecurity, which measures challenges in obtaining food at some point in the past year. Since data collection and estimates began in early April, around five percent of households in New Hampshire indicated there was either sometimes or often not enough to eat in the last seven days.[li] These consistent levels of recent difficulty in accessing food indicate that that the challenges in accessing food have been sustained since the pandemic began. Continued difficultly in accessing food in New Hampshire may indicate future increases in food insecurity and other challenges for vulnerable individuals and families in New Hampshire.

Conclusion

Food insecurity presents significant challenges to individuals and families across New Hampshire and the nation. The severe, negative physiological and psychological impacts of food insecurity affect the development of children and the health and well-being of Granite Staters of all ages. Individuals and families earning lower incomes and certain other groups are disproportionately likely to face food insecurity, which may compound existing hardships.

The negative effects of the Great Recession led to changes in employment opportunities for workers, declines in real wages, relatively high unemployment, and other challenges leading to a rise in household food insecurity. As the prevalence of food insecurity is closely and inversely related to economic well-being, those with limited economic security and resources who were most impacted by the Great Recession were the most susceptible to experiencing food insecurity. While food insecurity levels in New Hampshire were continually lower than the national estimates and estimates for New England, levels appear to have remained elevated for longer in the state than in the nation overall, indicating that the economic recovery took longer to reach vulnerable Granite Staters. In New Hampshire, the uneven economic recovery from the Great Recession is represented by the significant declines and long, slow rebound of the real wages of lower wage workers. This factor combined with fewer policies to support and boost the incomes of individuals and families with fewer resources in New Hampshire compared to other states may have resulted in New Hampshire's food insecurity levels remaining elevated for longer than the nation.

The current COVID-19 crisis has created severe economic challenges like those of the Great Recession; declines in employment and increases in unemployment, income losses, and the potential for shifting employment opportunities, place many vulnerable Granite Staters at greater risk. Like the Great Recession, many impacts thus far have been most acutely felt by individuals and families with the fewest resources, who were only recently beginning to experience the positive effects of the last economic recovery, and food insecurity levels are likely to be significantly higher now than before the crisis began. Food insecurity trends during the recovery from the Great Recession suggest additional support for individuals and families with the fewest resources may have contributed to more consistent reductions in food insecurity in other states, and the nation overall, compared to New Hampshire. Providing aid to vulnerable populations most impacted by economic downturns is key to mitigating financial hardships and stimulating the economy. As the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis continue to effect Granite Staters, relevant policies and support programs for the people most effected, and for those with the fewest resources, will be central in helping ensure all individuals and families are able to access food and for mitigating food insecurity during and after the COVID-19 crisis.
Funding for this report was provided by:
Sources

[ii] The Economic Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture defines what food insecurity is and how food insecurity is measured in their yearly data and estimate releases.

[iv] Health outcomes of individuals experiencing food insecurity is discussed by the Economic Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture October 2017 publication Adults in Households With More Severe Food Insecurity Are More Likely To Have a Chronic Disease.

[vi] The Negative Effects of Poverty and Food Insecurity on Child Development, authored by Mariana Chilton, Michelle Chyatte, and Jennifer Breaux and published in November 2007 in The Indian Journal of Medical Research, explains the importance of food for a child's physical and psychological development.

[vii] Food Insecurity Affects School Children's Academic Performance, Weight Gain, and Social Skills, authored by Diana F. Jyoti, Edward A. Frongillo, and Sonya J. Jones and published in December 2005 in The Journal of Nutrition explores the developmental consequences of food insecurity in children.

[x] Levels of estimated household food insecurity by household composition over the 2017-2019 period for the United States were calculated and released by the Economic Research Service of the United Sates Department of Agriculture.

[xi] Levels of estimated household food insecurity by race or ethnicity of householder and income to poverty ratio over the 2017-2019 period for the United States were calculated and released by the Economic Research Service of the United Sates Department of Agriculture.

[xii] Information regarding poverty thresholds are published by the United States Census Bureau.

[xiii] Poverty estimates for subsets of Granite Staters are representative of the five-year span from 2014-2018 to improve data reliability beyond the level of certainty provided by single-year estimates. The 2014-2018 five-year period is the most recent available five-year data published by the United States Census Bureau; additional information is available in NHFPI's 2020 Conference Handout.

[xiv] Median household incomes are estimates from the American Community Survey; see full estimates from the United States Census Bureau.

[xv] Levels of estimated household food insecurity by general geographic area type over the 2017-2019 period for the United States were calculated and released by the Economic Research Service of the United Sates Department of Agriculture.

[xvii] Poverty and child poverty estimates for the state and geographical subsets of Granite Staters are representative of the five-year span from 2014-2018 to improve data reliability beyond the level of certainty provided by single-year estimates. The 2014-2018 five-year period is the most recent available five-year data published and are available from the United States Census Bureau.

[xviii] Local SNAP enrollment figures provided by the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, and converted to municipal-level enrollment in NHFPI analysis.

[xix] Information on Free and Reduced Price Lunch eligibility is collected and provided by the New Hampshire Department of Education.

[xx] Definitions and descriptions of food insecurity and measures are compiled by the Economic Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture.

[xxi] Estimates of household food insecurity yearly at the national level, and over three-year periods at the national, state and substate levels, are collected, calculated, and analyzed by the Economic Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture. Yearly releases and publications of these data and analyses are collected on this resource page.

[xxii] Estimates of household food insecurity yearly at the national level, and over three-year periods at the national, state and substate levels, are collected, calculated, and analyzed by the Economic Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture. Yearly releases and publications of these data and analyses are collected on this resource page.

[xxiii] NHFPI analysis identifying the real and relative changes in household food insecurity estimates were conducted using the midpoint estimated released by the Economic Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture. Yearly releases and publications of these data and analyses are collected on this resource page. Margins of error for each estimate vary by period and by state.

[xxiv] For more information on trends and analyses of the recovery period after the Great Recession, see NHFPI's August 2019 Issue Brief titled New Hampshire's Workforce, Wages, and Economic Opportunity.

[xxvi] Federal Current Population Survey data analyzed by the Economic Policy Institute provided the data for tracking wages by percentile in New Hampshire.

[xxvii] For more information on trends and analyses of the recovery period after the Great Recession, see NHFPI's August 2019 Issue Brief titled New Hampshire's Workforce, Wages, and Economic Opportunity.

[xxviii] See NHFPI's September 18, 2020 fact sheet titled Census Bureau 2019 Estimates for Income, Poverty, Housing Costs, and Health Coverage.

[xxx] Assessing the Effect of Increasing Housing Costs on Food Insecurity authored by James M. Fletcher, Tatiana Andreyeva, and Susan H. Busch, and published in the Journal of Children and Poverty in November 2009 estimates the negative effects of housing cost increases on food insecurity. Additionally, the February 2011 Journal of Urban Health analysis by Sharon I. Kirkpatrick and Valerie Tarasuk titled Housing Circumstances are Associated with Household Food Access among Low-Income Urban Families found higher likelihoods of food insecurity among households paying more than 30 percent of their income on housing.

[xxxi] The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities' July 2013 publication titled Various Supports for Low-Income Families Reduce Poverty and Have Long-Term Positive Effects On Families and Children discusses the effectiveness of support and aid programs in reducing poverty.

[xxxii] The Wage and Hour Division of the United States Department of Labor tracks minimum wages nationally and at the state level over time.

[xxxiii] Unemployment estimates are calculated and tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

[xxxiv] For more information on trends and analyses of the recovery period after the Great Recession, see NHFPI's August 2019 Issue Brief titled New Hampshire's Workforce, Wages, and Economic Opportunity.

[xxxvi] More information on SNAP can be seen in the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities report Policy Basics: The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), updated June 2019.

[xxxvii] For an overview of SNAP and the New Hampshire Food Stamp Program, see NHFPI's October 2019 updated Fact Sheet titled The New Hampshire Food Stamp Program. SNAP enrollment figures drawn from the October 2020 New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services caseload report.

[xxxviii] Information on the multiplier effect of SNAP benefits during the Great Recession is available from the Moody's Analytics July 2010 publication titled How the Great Recession Was Brought to an End.

[xxxix] New Hampshire Food Stamp Manual Table F, accessed November 2020.

[xlii] The economic stability of lower-income households is discussed in the Federal Reserve's Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2019 - May 2020. Analysis from the Pew Research Center suggests families with lower incomes have had more difficulty accumulating wealth than higher income families in recent decades.

[xliii] The disproportional health and economic impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on certain workers is discussed in the April 2020 Kaiser Family Foundation report titled Double Jeopardy: Low Wage Workers at Risk for Health and Financial Implications of COVID-19.

[xlv] See the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities' resource titled Tracking the COVID-19 Recession's Effects on Food, Housing, and Employment Hardships, updated November 2020.

[xlvi] The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services' Division of Economic and Housing Stability has released weekly updates related to the COVID-19 crisis with data available on the COVID-19 Data resource page.

[xlvii] See the United States Census Bureau's Measuring Household Experiences during the Coronavirus Pandemic.

[xlviii] A third phase of the United States Census Bureau's Household Pulse Survey was announced on November 9, 2020.

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Food Insecurity and Economic Conditions in New Hampshire and the Nation - New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute

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Food insecurity is a measure that estimates the number of households experiencing a lack of food due to insufficient money or other resources over time. This measure generally correlates with overall economic conditions, and those families and individuals who are most effected by economic declines are more likely to experience food insecurity.

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Messaging Research: Nutritious School Meals

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Messaging Research: Nutritious School Meals

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Center for Science in the Public Interest

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Building the Evidence Base by Testing Innovative Strategies to Reduce Food Insecurity in the United States

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Building the Evidence Base by Testing Innovative Strategies to Reduce Food Insecurity in the United States

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Findings from the Evaluation of Demonstration Projects to End Childhood Hunger

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Table of Contents page: Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics

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Publication of this supplement has been supported by the US Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service.; The opinions or views expressed in this professional education supplement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or recommendations of US Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service.

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December 2020

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Mailed 1/12/21; emailed 1/19/21

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Agenda and Notes

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01.27.21 Food Access Coalition Agenda & Notes

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Agenda and Notes

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12.16 Food Access Coalition Agenda & Notes

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11.18 Food Access Coalition Agenda & Notes

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Team Up Take Action

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10.28  Food Access Coalition Agenda & Notes

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Gunderson 2020 food security COVID Feeding America sub state estimates

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From R.I. Food Policy Council

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COVID-19 Policy Response for Food System Resilience & Justice

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9.30 Food Access Coalition Agenda & Notes

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Food Access Coalition Priorities - Google Jamboard

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The version of the browser you are using is no longer supported. Please upgrade to a supported browser. Dismiss

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Food Access Community Engagement Final Report 7.30.20

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and Network Map

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Governor's COVID-19 Equity Response Team Initial Report & Recommendations

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Governor's COVID-19 Equity Response Team Initial Report & Recommendations

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(See p. 24 section "h" about assuring food access)

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Nutrition Incentives Policy Brief

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Food Access Advocacy Coalition Meeting Notes