Survey Results Reveal Faces of Hunger in Rhode Island

Today, the Rhode Island Community Food Bank released the results of a statewide survey identifying demographic details of households impacted by hunger in Rhode Island. The survey was conducted earlier this year by the Food Bank in partnership with Brown University’s Hassenfeld Child Health Innovation Institute and dozens of volunteers.

The 2019 Hunger Survey provided valuable information regarding the economic circumstances and challenges faced by the people served at the member agencies that make up the Food Bank network.

We also found that:

66% of households that visit our food pantries include a child (0-17 yrs old) or senior (65+ yrs old)
45% of respondents report being in poor or fair health (as opposed to good, very good, or excellent)
69% of households with children have an employed adult yet 89% live below the poverty line
75% of respondents are enrolled in SNAP (which the USDA plans to cut, leaving 11,000 Rhode Islanders without food assistance including 5,000 children)

This data tells us that even with a strong economy, thousands of Rhode Islanders are struggling to put food on the table. And that has a tremendous impact on their health as well. The results of the survey will help direct our work over the next few years as we go through our strategic planning process.

Thank you to the Hassenfeld Child Health Innovation Institute and to all those who volunteered their time to do surveys. You can find the full results on our website.