HUNGER
One in 10 New Hampshire residents faces food insecurity — when people don’t have consistent access to enough nutritious food to lead a healthy life.
Meeting that challenge has been the mission of the New Hampshire Food Bank, a program of Catholic Charities New Hampshire, since our founding in 1984. But a new report from Feeding America, a nonprofit network of 200 food banks leading the fight against hunger in the United States, shows food insecurity in the Granite State has increased by 44%.
That is not a misprint. About 135,200 New Hampshire residents are food insecure — a year-over-year increase of more than 41,000 individuals from 2021 to 2022. The Feeding America report, “Map the Meal Gap 2024,” also notes food insecurity among New Hampshire children has increased dramatically, from 8.5% to 13.4% over the same time span.
The causes are many, and they can be complex. Inflation, unemployment, economic disparity — especially in the state’s most rural counties — and the long-term impacts of the COVID pandemic have all magnified the problem. As these recent numbers show, an already urgent need is growing by leaps and bounds.
In 2023, as the state’s only food bank, the New Hampshire Food Bank procured and distributed more than 16 million pounds of nonperishable food items, fresh produce and meats to more than 400 nonprofit food agencies in all corners of our state. Over the past year, we have worked with the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services to increase enrollment in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), encouraging those in need to apply for food assistance.
We are continuing to grow our NH Feeding NH program, a partnership with the New Hampshire Farm Bureau, New Hampshire Food Alliance and the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New Hampshire.
We launched NH Feeding NH in 2020 to provide locally grown, nutritious food to those in need. Last year, NH Feeding NH provided more than 503,000 pounds of food grown by 176 New Hampshire farms, benefitting 279 partner agencies.
We are only halfway through 2024, but it has already been a busy year for the New Hampshire Food Bank. In January we secured temporary warehouse space in Berlin to increase food distribution efforts, enhancing access to nutritious food in the historically underserved North Country region. In April, the Food Bank held our 8th Annual Steel Chef Challenge, hosted by celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson, which raised a net total of $183,000, providing nearly 286,000 meals to those experiencing food insecurity.
We have launched our 2024 Summer Meals Challenge, a fundraising effort focused on raising funds to support New Hampshire kids at a time when free and reduced-price school meals are not available. A generous donor has pledged to match all donations to our Summer Meals Challenge up to $100,000.
Additionally, we are partnering with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to host sites for its Summer Nutrition Programs for Kids (SUN) in the northern and western areas of our state, providing summer meals for children ages 18 and under.
And this past month, the Food Bank participated in NH Gives, the state’s largest online fundraiser benefitting nonprofits. This year, about 650 nonprofits, including the Food Bank, participated, with the Food Bank raising close to $23,000 in just 24 hours.
While we have found fundraising success thanks to the generosity of the people and businesses of New Hampshire, the growing demand and need is outpacing our fundraising efforts. We are committed to ending hunger in New Hampshire. But we cannot do it without you.
We are asking individuals and businesses to consider donating some of our “most needed items” and to participate in our variety of programming and events, such as food drives happening throughout the state. You can also help support the Food Bank’s mission by making monetary donations, as we purchase a third of the food we distribute. For every $1 donated, 95 cents supports the Food Bank’s programming. And we always welcome volunteers whose service is critical to the work we do throughout the state.
The startling data in the Feeding America report are more than just numbers: They are our neighbors, our friends and our families. We are confident that, with the continued support of residents, volunteers, businesses and our more than 400 partner agencies, we can reach our goal of ending hunger in the Granite State.
Our state’s neediest residents — and especially our children — deserve no less.
To learn how you can join the battle against hunger in New Hampshire, visit us at nhfoodbank.org.
Eileen Liponis is executive director of New Hampshire Food Bank.
