Food Insecurity On The Rise In Pittsburgh Area, Study Says

DUQUESNE, PA —A new report from Feeding America projects a 42 percent increase in food insecurity rates during the year 2020 in Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank’s service area.

Using a model developed to Map the Meal Gap, which provides insight into therelationships between poverty, unemployment and food insecurity, Feeding America projected changes to annual unemployment and poverty rates to arrive at new estimates.

“Since the onset of the pandemic we’ve seen a dramatic increase in demand for food,” food bank president and CEO Lisa Scales said. “We’ve anticipated and are preparing for this high level of need to be around for many months to come.”

Using a model developed to Map the Meal Gap, which provides insight into the relationships between poverty, unemployment and food insecurity, Feeding America projected changes to annual unemployment and poverty rates to arrive at new estimates.

In 2018 (the most recent data reported by Feeding America), food insecurity in the Food Bank’s 11-county service area was 10.8 percent (260,390 individuals). The new 2020 projection estimates a 15.4 percent food insecurity rate (369,450), a 42 percent increase from 2018.

“Prior to the pandemic we were providing food to an average of 15 families each day at our headquarters in Duquesne,” Scales said. “Since March, we’ve served an average of 30 families a day, including more than 100 families daily during peak times in April and May.

"We have more than 500 partners across our network in 11 counties, along with our drive-up distributions, home delivery service and grab and go meals for kids. The increased outreach for food through those channels has been just as substantial.”