Insights on Food Insecurity and Inequity in
Greater Washington

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Foreword

Positive economic news has abounded in the past year, with reports of a strong job market, low unemployment numbers, continued wage growth, and reduced levels of inflation regularly in the headlines. The financial upheaval that characterized so much of the last several years appears to have receded well into the distance.  

And yet, rather than seeing improvements in the economic stability of individuals across the region, and an associated reduction in the need for food assistance, the Capital Area Food Bank (CAFB) and its network of nonprofit partners have seen the opposite: the number of people seeking help has been climbing higher. Last fiscal year, CAFB distributed the food for 64 million meals – more than double its pre-pandemic levels, and five million more than the year prior. 

In short: beyond the upbeat macroeconomic narrative, there is clearly another, very different reality unfolding for a growing number of people.   

To explore this discrepancy, the food bank once again partnered with trusted independent social research organization NORC at the University of Chicago to conduct a general population survey about food insecurity and inequity in the region. General population surveys are the most reliable and accurate tools available for understanding the prevalence of key issues in the context of broader society. Now in its third year, the CAFB/NORC survey reflects data gathered from nearly 4,000 residents of Greater Washington. 

The results show that far from receding, food insecurity has seen a dramatic uptick. The percentage of people in need in our area has risen significantly in the last year, both overall and across every county surveyed.  

This year’s report explores the multiple, often compounding forces making it difficult for an increasing number of our neighbors to put food on the table. These include the cumulative weight of inflation on living costs over the past four years; ongoing employment challenges and wage stagnation that have severely undercut the purchasing power of many residents; and the impacts of a full year without the government supports that blunted the worst financial hardships of the pandemic. 

Beyond illuminating food insecurity’s key drivers, Hunger Report 2024 reveals surprising new trends in the economic profiles of those experiencing food insecurity, showing that rates have spiked among middle income households. And it continues to shed light on many of the known correlations between food insecurity, race, educational attainment, and geography in our region, underscoring the ongoing effects of longstanding systemic racism and structural inequities.  

Additionally, this year’s report contains new data about the seemingly impossible choices that many people must make when faced with a limited budget, including trade-offs between food and housing, transportation, healthcare, credit card payments, and other critical expenses – all of which can have negative long-term results. The report also puts numbers to some of the most dire outcomes of having a budget that won’t stretch to cover all of a household’s necessities, including the prevalence of adults skipping meals or, most wrenchingly, seeing children go without food. 

Finally, as in past years, we have devoted a significant portion of this report to exploring the path forward.  As the socioeconomic disparities in our area continue to expand, the need for all sectors to act – and to do so collaboratively – is becoming greater and more urgent.  Allowing food insecurity and economic inequity to grow unchecked has profoundly negative consequences– both for individual lives, and for our region writ large. There is a role for everyone –– including corporations, nonprofits, and governments at every level – to play in providing our neighbors with the resources and support they need. Together, we can help reverse these trends and build a community in which all people can thrive. 

This survey was conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago with funding from the Capital Area Food Bank (CAFB). Staff from NORC and CAFB collaborated on all aspects of the study.

Interviews were conducted with adults age 18 and older in the D.C. Metropolitan Area (this area includes the following counties: Montgomery Co, MD, Prince George’s Co, MD, Fairfax Co, VA, Prince William Co, VA, Arlington Co, VA, Alexandria, VA, and Washington DC). Interviews for Prince George’s Co, MD, Fairfax Co, VA, Prince William Co, VA, Arlington Co, VA, Alexandria, VA, and Washington DC were conducted 5/28-6/9/2024, and interviews for Montgomery Co, MD were conducted 7/22-31/2024.

Data from Montgomery County, MD were initially collected during the 5/28-6/9/2024 field period at the same time as the six other counties in the region. Upon review, the responding sample in Montgomery County had indications of a problematic sample including disproportionately low response from some subgroups and outlier estimates on key measures. Out of caution, the Montgomery County sample was discarded, and a new sample was drawn and fielded 7/22-31/2024. In the re-fielding of Montgomery County, census tracts with a higher density of Hispanic adults and those with a higher density of adults with an educational level of high-school or less were sampled at a higher rate than their proportion of the population. The re-fielded Montgomery County interviews were combined with the original fielding from the other six counties for final weighting and analysis.

All sampled households were mailed a postcard inviting them to complete the survey either online using a unique PIN or via telephone by calling a toll-free number. Postcards were addressed to: [CITY] HOUSEHOLD. There was no within-household selection for households with multiple adults.

The online interviews were available in English, Spanish, French, Arabic, and Amharic. The telephone interviews were available in English and Spanish. Respondents were offered a monetary incentive (either $10 or $15) for completing the survey.

Quality assurance checks were conducted to ensure data quality. In total, 41 interviews were removed for nonresponse to at least 50% of the questions asked of them, for completing the survey in less than one-third the median interview time for the full sample, or for straight-lining all grid questions asked of them. These interviews were excluded from the data file prior to weighting.

Once the data were cleaned, a nonresponse adjustment and raking process were used to adjust for the sample design, differential survey nonresponse and noncoverage of the sampling frame along demographic and geographic dimensions. Raking variables included age, gender, race/ethnicity, education, number of adults in the household, and geographic area. Population control totals for the raking variables were obtained from the 2022 Population Estimates reported by the U.S. Census Bureau, along with population estimates obtained from the 2018-2022 American Community Survey. The weighted data reflect the population of adults age 18 and over in the D.C. Metropolitan Area.

The overall margin of sampling error (MOE) among all adults age 18 and over for the overall D.C. Metropolitan Area and for each county are:

Area n Design effect MOE (+/- percentage points)
Overall 3,819 3.5 3.0
Montgomery Co, MD 713 2.3 5.6
Prince George’s Co, MD 499 2.6 7.1
Fairfax Co, VA 463 3.4 8.4
Prince William Co 489 2.5 7.0
Arlington Co, VA 608 2.8 6.7
Alexandria, VA 523 2.5 6.8
Washington DC 524 2.1 6.2

Sampling error is only one of many potential sources of error and there may be other unmeasured error in this or any other survey.

For more information, email info@norc.org.

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Choices Faced by People Experiencing Food Insecurity

While food insecurity is a defined term with specific criteria, it is also an experience – one that is lived out by thousands of people across our region every day. That experience often involves difficult choices and harsh trade-offs that can take a heavy physical, mental, and emotional toll. When exploring strategies to address this issue, understanding these lived experiences – the kitchen table conversations about money, the trade-offs between different necessities, and the choices made about what, how much, and sometimes whether to eat – is as important as understanding the underlying economic and social forces at play.

The following section draws from numerous studies, including this year’s CAFB-NORC study, to help paint a picture of the budgets and experiences of people facing food insecurity across our region.

The finances around the kitchen table

For food insecure households in Greater Washington, keeping up with monthly expenses is a constant struggle. This is no surprise, given the basic household budget for a family of four in this region requires between $114,000 and $135,000 in annual income, depending on which economic study is being consulted.

For food insecure households in Greater Washington, keeping up with monthly expenses is a constant struggle.

Factoring the costs of covering a family’s basic needs where they live, experts from the Economic Policy Institute, MIT, and United Way have each calculated the minimum income that families of various sizes need to make ends meet in different geographies. Taking the average of the three studies and breaking it down to monthly expenses, it becomes clear why a typical family of four earning even median wages may be vulnerable to food insecurity.

A cartoon of a notepad and calculator showing the monthly budget of a family of four in Greater Washington.

Zooming in on the food budget specifically, the average of these three expert studies suggests a minimum monthly food budget of $1,271. However, the CAFB-NORC study found that the average food insecure household with children is spending less than half that amount – only $544 per month – on food between their government benefits ($162) and their own earned income ($380). While charitable food providers are stepping in to fill in a portion of that gap for some food insecure households (only 46% access charitable food), the rest of it is going unaddressed, leading to poorer health and nutrition for thousands of families.

Choices about what and how much to eat

With overall buying power significantly reduced for many people across our region because of inflation, and a high regional cost of living, budgets are extremely tight for many. Food is frequently one of the areas where people first trim back to make ends meet, and doing so can mean making different kinds of choices about what to eat, how much to eat, and in some cases, who in the household eats and when. In this year’s survey, 46% of the region’s residents reported running short of money and trying to make their food budget stretch, describing a range of coping strategies for trying to bridge this gap in their budget.

How much to eat

For those without adequate money for food, eating less was among the primary coping strategies. Over 51% of people said they cut the size of their meals or skipped meals, and 39% said they experienced hunger but did not eat. Additionally, 61% of people reported eating less than they felt they should because there was not enough money for food. Perhaps most concerningly, 31% of people reported not eating for an entire day due to a lack of funds for food, and 28% of people reported losing weight for this reason.

What kinds of food to eat

Food quality and type is another decision point for individuals when they are faced with a budget gap. When describing the food in their household, 41% of all residents described having enough to eat, but not of the types of food they wanted to eat, indicating they may be making choices about quality, nutrition, type, or a combination of these factors.Having balanced meals was also a challenge for many, with 29% of people stating that they sometimes could not afford to eat balanced meals, and 12% saying this happened often.

It’s getting harder and harder to have access to healthy quality food because costs are just rising and rising.
—CAFB Client

Feeding children in the household

Coping strategies around trade-offs in food type and quality extended to how people reported feeding children in the household. Among all residents with children, 39% reported relying on just a few types of low-cost foods to provide to their kids, with 28% saying they relied on this strategy sometimes and 11% reporting that it happened often. And 25% shared that they sometimes could not provide a balanced meal for their children, with an additional 4% reporting that this happened frequently.

When it comes to children skipping meals, research in past hunger reports has indicated that adults will generally choose to forego eating their own meals so that children in their households have enough food. However, in some cases respondents shared that they simply could not make ends meet. Over 14% reported that their children sometimes were not eating enough because there wasn’t adequate money, and 4% more reported that this occurred often.

Capital Area Food Bank (Rebecca Drobis and Les Talusan) and Feeding America

Trade-offs between food and other necessities

In addition to the difficult decisions about food that individuals must make for themselves and their families when resources are scarce (how much and what types to eat), many people must also make choices between food and other necessities because the household budget simply won’t cover both. These include essentials like rent, transportation, childcare, and medical care.

A bar chart showing the prevalence of experiencing financial trade-offs between food and other necessities

These trade-offs can have significant consequences. Delaying or not seeking needed medical care, for instance, can create health problems in both the short and long term. And those problems may be exacerbated by necessary choices between eating food that is nutritious versus food that is affordable – or eating enough food at all. Such difficult decisions may lead to diet-related disease, compounding the existing challenges of food insecurity.

Juana’s family has faced difficult financial tradeoffs, including buying less food so they can pay their rent and foregoing health insurance due to the high cost.

Trade-offs with credit card and loan payments can also have long term consequences. Missed rent, mortgage, or other payments can jeopardize access to essential utilities, goods, or services in the short term, and can cause mounting debt and credit issues in the future that jeopardize good financial standing and the ability to build wealth. This threat to financial health is increasingly common, as the percentage of people with delinquent credit card debt, especially at lower income levels, has been rising rapidly since 2020.

Perhaps surprisingly, these trade-offs are being made by an increasingly wide swath of the income spectrum. While those with low incomes were making these difficult trade-offs at the highest rates, a significant and growing number of middle-income earners were also facing decisions between food and other necessities.

Share of DMV residents experiencing financial trade-offs between food and other necessities by income level

Question: In the last 12 months, since May of last year, have you or has someone in your household had to choose between paying for food and paying for each of the following, or not?
Source: Capital Area Food Bank Survey conducted May 28-July 31, 2024 with 3,819 adults age 18 and older in the D.C. Metro Area

These choices speak to the increasing financial vulnerability of people at multiple income levels. If individuals and families are trading off between necessities, we can be sure that they are not prepared to absorb bigger financial shocks or unplanned expenses, such as an unforeseen medical bill or an emergency car repair.

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Recommendations for Addressing Food Insecurity

When people in our community lack access to enough nutritious food, the impacts do not stop at the individual. Food insecurity is a problem that reverberates across the whole of our region, and which has downstream implications for all sectors and, ultimately, all residents in our area. Approaches for addressing this challenge must therefore be similarly far-reaching and holistic. Importantly, they must also be complementary and integrated. No single actor can solve this challenge alone, and lasting change will require thoughtful collaboration, both within and across public, private, and nonprofit entities.

Insight from a local leader

“Our region holds enormous potential, but widespread hunger and the inequities that underlie it are major obstacles to achieving all that we’re capable of, impacting everything from educational attainment and health to workforce readiness, our talent pathways, and economic competitiveness. That’s why addressing these challenges benefits everyone. When our region comes together, we can do big things and solve hard problems. Through thoughtful policy, innovation, and a real commitment to collaboration across every sector, we can build long-term economic strength and stability, generate greater opportunities, and create a more inclusive region where no one is left behind.”

The below recommendations for addressing food insecurity include strategies that encompass each of those categories. Some have been discussed in prior reports and are covered again here to underscore the consistency of the issues underlying this problem and the importance of approaching it from multiple angles. Combined, these recommendations have the potential to positively impact our neighbors both in the immediate term, and over the months and years to come.

A visual list of five recommendations for addressing food insecurity holistically.

Maintain and strengthen federal programs that support food security

Government programs at every level remain one of the most effective ways to address – at unparalleled scale – food insecurity and the economic hardships that underlie it.  These include initiatives that support food access directly through a variety of channels, as well as those focused on other aspects of economic security that impact a household’s ability to obtain enough nutritious food.

Federal nutrition programs play a front-line role in ensuring that people facing hunger get the nourishment they need today. With the number of individuals and families in our region who are struggling to put food on the table even higher than last year, the importance of maintaining and, where possible, strengthening these programs remains critical. And for the multiple federal nutrition programs funded through the Farm Bill – an expansive piece of legislation passed by Congress every five years that remains up for reauthorization this year – the opportunity to ensure that these supports remain strong is especially pronounced.

SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program)

SNAP helps people in need put food on their tables by providing benefits to purchase groceries. As the largest federal program aimed at addressing food insecurity, the scale of the SNAP program as a front-line resource for those facing hunger is unmatched: for every one meal that a food bank like CAFB provides, SNAP provides nine.

In our region, 27% of people facing food insecurity rely on this program. Its impacts on people’s budgets can be significant, especially when benefit levels that do not adequately support a household’s current level of need. During Farm Bill reauthorization, there are many opportunities to ensure the future strength of the program by:

27% of people facing food insecurity rely on the SNAP program.
  • Ensuring SNAP’s purchasing power remains strong so that benefits align with grocery prices and provide adequate support during challenging economic times. This will enable SNAP participants to access the nutrition they need while also freeing up funds that allow them to invest in other critical necessities like housing and health care. More broadly, it will also decrease the need for charitable food assistance, helping to reduce strain on food banks.
  • Streamlining SNAP eligibility and enrollment to improve access for older adults, college students, immigrants, and low-wage workers. Current eligibility rules and enrollment processes are complex, can preclude those in need from participating, and do not reflect the nature of our modern student population and workforce.
  • Better assisting individuals seeking employment. Congress can help SNAP participants find work by supporting effective state employment and training programs and ensuring people receive adequate SNAP benefits while job searching.

TEFAP (The Emergency Food Assistance Program)

Having a consistent supply of nutritious foods for clients is of paramount importance to all food banks, and government commodities distributed to the charitable sector through The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) have long played an important role in enabling that ability.

Through TEFAP, the US Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) purchases over 120 foods, including fruits and vegetables, eggs, meat, poultry, fish, nuts, dairy, and whole grains —from US growers and producers. Food banks, and other food-distributing organizations, then partner with states to distribute this food to people in need. This food is a critical part of food bank donation streams: over 20% of the food distributed through Feeding America network food banks and local hunger-relief programs comes from TEFAP.

This essential program could be made even stronger through refinements that create a better experience for individuals receiving support, as well as for food banks administering the program and the distribution partners they work with. These include:

  • Reducing barriers to access for clients. Income eligibility thresholds create barriers to accessing TEFAP for individuals who are making too much to qualify for the program yet struggle to make ends meet in areas with a very high cost of living. Administrators at both the federal and state levels should remove or loosen these thresholds.
  • Doubling the annual amount of funding for TEFAP entitlement commodities. The new level would ensure a steady flow of TEFAP foods to food programs like food banks and support the US agricultural economy.
  • Providing sufficient funding to cover the program’s administrative costs. Lawmakers should create mechanisms to fund administrative costs, as well as other programmatic costs that do not currently cover the expenses associated with running the program.
  • Diversifying commodity food offerings. Policymakers should allow food banks greater autonomy over food selection, as the foods provided frequently do not meet the cultural or health needs of the community members they serve.

CSFP (Commodity Supplemental Food Program)

CSFP provides monthly supplemental groceries for seniors. For participants in the program, CSFP not only provides an important source of nourishment; it also helps to address many of the health conditions often found in seniors who experience food insecurity. Contents of CSFP food boxes are tailored to the unique needs of older adults and contain nutrients that are often lacking in participants’ diets. Access to these nutritious foods can help seniors avoid costly hospitalizations and nursing home placements.

To strengthen this program, the federal government can reduce the administrative burden for program participants and increase program efficiency by streamlining reporting requirements.

Adopt state-level policies that expand food access

Programs enacted at the state level also play a significant role in expanding direct access to nutrition. States often have administrative latitude that can increase the flexibility and accessibility of many federal programs, and they can bring additional funding to bear that can enhance program efficacy and reach. In instances where federal funding no longer exists for certain initiatives, states can also create programs that fill in the gap. In the Washington region, there are opportunities for states and the District of Columbia to act in all these ways to establish or strengthen key nutrition programs.

Increase minimum SNAP benefits through state supplements

During the COVID-19 pandemic, SNAP benefits were raised to the maximum level allowable based on household size, a minimum of $95 per person. These increases, known as Emergency Allotments (or EAs), meant that no recipient household was receiving less than $95 in benefits per month, and many families received substantially more. Particularly for households that had been receiving minimal levels of benefits prior to this increase, these enhancements offered a meaningful jump in support.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, SNAP benefits were raised to the maximum level allowable based on household size, a minimum of $95 per person.

Following the rollback of EAs in March of 2023, some states have since moved to supplement the minimum monthly SNAP allotment. In New Jersey, for instance, state lawmakers increased the minimum benefit to $95 (up from a state minimum of $50 and a federal minimum of $23).

Locally, lawmakers have also explored state level benefits increases. In Maryland in this year, legislators passed an increase in the SNAP minimum for those who are 60 and older, elevating benefits for that population to $50 per month. In DC, through the “Give SNAP a Raise” initiative, all SNAP recipients received a temporary increase of up to 10% of their household’s federal maximum on top of what they already receive. However, these supplemental benefits, which began January 1, 2024, are set to expire on September 30, 2024.

States have the ability to provide critical additional support for a program that has been shown to significantly reduce hunger while increasing local economic activity. Maryland, Virginia, and DC should continue to pursue permanent additional funding to bring minimum benefits to more meaningful levels for people across our region.

Enact universal school meals

Expanding access to school meal programs has long been associated with a variety of positive outcomes for students, including improved attendance rates, greater capacity to stay focused in class, and higher standardized test scores and academic achievement. School meals were also a vital component of the national response to COVID-19. Throughout the pandemic, federal waivers allowed all students to receive free meals, including breakfast and lunch, at school.

When those national flexibilities ended in the summer of 2022, students and families were forced to revert to completing forms and navigating the administrative processes of demonstrating their eligibility. These processes can cause a burden for families with low literacy levels, those who do not speak English at home, and undocumented families. They can also create administrative burdens on school administrators who need to collect and analyze school meal applications. Requiring applications for school meals generally decreases overall participation in the program, especially for families and children who do not qualify for free or reduced-price meals but would benefit from them.

When those national flexibilities ended in the summer of 2022, students and families were forced to revert to completing forms and navigating the administrative processes of demonstrating their eligibility.

In the last year, Maryland and Virginia have both created working groups to study the costs of establishing universal school meals and to identify programs that could be leveraged to cover the costs. In DC, legislation has been introduced that would provide universal free school meals and after school snacks to public school, public charter school, and participating private school students. By moving to pass and fund universal meal programs over the coming year, states can ensure that all children receive the school day nutrition they need to focus and achieve.

Support the expansion of Food Is Medicine programs

Nearly half of the region’s food insecure individuals are experiencing at least one diet-related illness, and they are more than twice as likely to report having a chronic health condition that limits their daily activities compared to their food secure counterparts (29% vs. 13%) There is a clear need to expand and accelerate work being done to enable better health outcomes among this population, including programs like those run by the food bank that provide medically tailored groceries directly in clinical settings. Such programs are part of a broader body of initiatives known as “Food Is Medicine” (FIM) interventions.

While the positive impacts of FIM programs are evident, creating impact at a meaningful scale will ultimately require changing state and federal reimbursement structures to include FIM interventions as a covered benefit.

Nearly half of the region’s food insecure individuals are experiencing at least one diet-related illness, and they are more than twice as likely to report having a chronic health condition that limits their daily activities compared to their food secure counterparts.

Currently, funding Food Is Medicine programming requires action at the state level. Multiple states, including Massachusetts, Oregon, North Carolina, and Arkansas are using a mechanism in Medicaid known as a section 1115 waiver that allows them to use federal funds to test programs that wouldn’t normally be included under Medicaid. Increasingly, states are using the waivers to fund programs that address what are often referred to as “social determinants of health,” a category that includes a range of non-clinical factors like safe housing, water pollution, and access to healthy, nutritious food. Research has shown that these factors account for over 80% of health outcomes.

By pursuing these waivers for the purposes of funding innovative Food Is Medicine interventions, the governments of DC, MD, and VA can enable greater access to initiatives that are increasingly proven to help individuals improve their health, advance equity, and significantly curb the cost of healthcare by reducing diet-related illness. Seeking 1115 waivers to pilot the support of FIM services would also contribute to the case for national adoption of FIM programs as covered Medicaid benefits.

In the last year, DC has made progress towards expanding support for FIM programs by proposing to test the expansion of Medicaid coverage for nutrition services and supports when submitting its five-year renewal request for its 1115 Medicaid Demonstration Waiver in June of 2024. Proposed coverage, which could go into effect in 2026, could include interventions like produce prescriptions, medically tailored meals and groceries, and nutrition education. Maryland and Virginia now have an opportunity to follow suit by taking full advantage of the flexibility provided by the federal government. In Maryland, policymakers are currently considering nutrition supports in their own 1115 Waiver.

Insight from a local leader

“The research is incredibly clear that our health is deeply impacted by many factors beyond medical care alone – including the food we eat. Innovative programs that are helping people manage, or prevent, diet-related illness through nutrition have great potential to help more of our region’s residents thrive while simultaneously reducing health care costs. The full impact of these programs can only be realized by bringing them to scale, and making them a regular, reimbursable part of health care – something that states can play a critical role in advancing.”

Invest in programs that enable food banks to source fresh local food

In December 2021, the USDA announced the creation of the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program (LFPA) with the stated goal of improving domestic agriculture supply chain resiliency by strengthening local and regional food systems, expanding economic opportunities for local and socially disadvantaged farmers, and building partnerships that get fresh, nutritious food to underserved communities.

Since its inception, LFPA has helped to catalyze new relationships between buyers and growers, providing food banks with opportunities to partner with local food hubs and regional food system networks to purchase locally grown and raised products from farmers and producers they may have never previously purchased from. Through LFPA funding, for instance, the Capital Area Food Bank has been able to purchase and distribute over 1.5 million pounds of fresh local food since January of 2023. These foods include items like fruits, vegetables, dairy, and protein, and they were sourced from 33 local farmers and producers (up from 4 just a few years ago); 11 of those farms are small and minority-owned.

The LFPA program at the federal level is currently slated to wind down in June of 2025. States, therefore, have a significant opportunity to enable the continuation of this program in some capacity by continuing to invest in state-level programs like the Maryland Food and Agriculture Resiliency Mechanism program, and the Virginia Agriculture Food Assistance Program.

Support programs and policies that address economic hardship holistically

Nutrition programs are critical. But truly moving the needle on food insecurity will ultimately require that lawmakers create policies that more holistically address the multiple other factors impacting the overall economic stability of households in our region and across the country. These include areas such as:

Housing

Rising housing costs can be a significant driver in the overall financial instability of many households, forcing difficult tradeoffs between food and other parts of family budgets. Policy interventions proposed to address this issue range from caps on rent to increases in emergency rental assistance programs to funding mechanisms that incentivize the creation of additional housing. Collectively, such policy efforts could have a significant impact in both the short and long term on households across out region.

Policy interventions proposed to address this issue range from caps on rent to increases in emergency rental assistance programs to funding mechanisms that incentivize the creation of additional housing.

Childcare

Childcare has become increasingly expensive, taking up a significant share of the income of many working families and placing particular strain on the budgets of lower- and middle-income households. As with housing, policymakers have proposed a variety of mechanisms for assisting those who are burdened by childcare costs and strengthening the national childcare system overall. These include initiatives focused on things such as expansion of childcare financial assistance programs and subsidies; increasing state-funded prekindergarten programs; and growing investment in the early care and education workforce to increase the availability of care.

Locally, Virginia has sought to address the need for access to affordable childcare by investing over $1.1 billion in early care and education services for its current budget cycle.

Locally, Virginia has sought to address the need for access to affordable childcare by investing over $1.1 billion in early care and education services for its current budget cycle. Research indicates that in addition to positively impacting individual households, such investments also offer a strong economic return. Studies at the national level show that the gain in gross domestic product (GDP) from affordable child care could increase federal tax revenue by more than $70 billion annually.

Other income supports

Research has consistently shown that income-based tax credits are one of the most effective tools available for reducing poverty and food insecurity, increasing social mobility, and significantly improving long-term outcomes on health, education, and even employment.

Two commonly claimed tax credits—the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Child Tax Credit (CTC)—were both expanded at various levels of government during the pandemic, and led to significant reductions in poverty in the US while they were active. While enhancements to the CTC and the EITC ended at the close of 2021, opportunities continue to exist for state governments to pick up where federal-level expansions left off. Maryland expanded both programs at the state level in 2023. And in the past year, DC included the District Child Tax Credit, which provides a fully refundable credit for each child of eligible parents who file taxes, in its FY25 budget. If grown and adopted across other parts of our region, these policies continue to have the potential to change the economic trajectory for thousands of additional people.

Invest in upskilling the food insecure population

Residents in the Washington DC metro area are experiencing a paradox of the current economy: Employers have said they are in severe need of talent, while hundreds of thousands of people are hurting for better jobs. The straightforward, win-win solution to this problem is to invest in upskilling the population earning under a living wage so they can take advantage of the opportunities for upward mobility that exist in this region.

Insight from a local leader

“For several years, employers in Northern Virginia have faced a significant challenge in finding and retaining skilled talent in a tight labor market. They recognize the value of a workforce that reflects our diverse community, making it essential to build a pipeline of talent from varied economic backgrounds. This approach not only drives business growth but also enhances the economic prospects of our community.”

However, workforce training alone cannot solve this challenge. Today, there are already hundreds of organizations in the region offering free or low-cost professional trainings that align with industry needs, and the attention and resources being dedicated to workforce development are growing. Yet many potential beneficiaries of these programs are either not enrolling or enrolling and not completing, because the financial stability required to complete even a short training program is out of reach.

The critical – and often missing – element for success of these programs is wraparound services that address adult learners’ basic needs (housing, food, transportation, childcare, etc.) while they are training for a better job, so they can maintain stability long enough to complete their programs and change their economic trajectory.

A cartoon showing a bridge being built to connect the working food insecure with employers in need of talent.

Collaboration between employers, workforce development, and social sector actors is critical for this kind of supportive, transformative programming. Employers have a stake in enabling the pipeline of diverse talent they need and can partner with workforce development actors to design trainings that produce employment-ready graduates. Several examples of these kinds of partnerships, particularly between big tech firms and community colleges, exist in the DMV.

Collaboration between employers, workforce development, and social sector actors is critical for this kind of supportive, transformative programming.

On the social sector side, nonprofits can align with workforce providers to enhance the wraparound services offered to program participants. The Capital Area Food Bank has been forging partnerships with community colleges and universities across the region to do just this, bundling free groceries with other academic and social supports for students pursuing workforce certificates, associate’s degrees, and bachelor’s degrees in the DMV.

Insight from a local leader

“At Northern Virginia Community College, the region’s largest supplier of talent, our mission is to provide affordable, exceptional education that transforms the lives of our students. We know that many of our students—and prospective students—are outside of economic opportunity trying to find a way in. Their pathways to the jobs of the future are blocked by their present challenges, including food insecurity. This is why we partner with the Capital Area Food Bank—to remove the barriers that knock our students off track and prevent them from completing programs that lead to in-demand careers and jobs that pay a living wage. We are grateful to the Capital Area Food Bank for working with NOVA to set our students up for success at our college and beyond.”

These programs target a mix of students, with a growing emphasis on programs that are preparing students for entry-level, living wage jobs – of which there are many in the region. The following table includes a sampling of occupations in the DC Metro Area that are growing in demand and pay a living wage without requiring a bachelor’s degree. Many of the food insecure students receiving support through these programs are on track for employment in some of these jobs.

A table of local occupations, their earnings, and projected growth rates.

Increase the accessibility of the emergency food assistance network

Last year’s CAFB-NORC report uncovered a critical finding: that approximately half of the food insecure population was not accessing any charitable food. This year, the proportion of food insecure people not availing themselves of support has increased from 46% to 54%, potentially due in part to the growth in food insecurity among households in higher income brackets.

Examining the race, income, and educational attainment of the food insecure populations who are and are not accessing charitable food reveals that those who are food insecure but not seeking out support are more likely to be white, have higher levels of educational attainment, and earn higher incomes.

Racial composition of food insecure population accessing vs.not accessing charitable food Accessing Charitable Food

Accessing Charitable Food
Not Accessing Charitable Food

Question:Variable calculated based on a series of responses to survey questions
Source:Capital Area Food Bank Survey conducted May 28–July 31,2024 with 3,819 adults age 18 and older in the D.C.Metro Area

Educational attainment of food insecure population accessing vs.not accessing charitable food

Question:Variable calculated based on a series of responses to survey questions
Source:Capital Area Food Bank Survey conducted May 28–July 31,2024 with 3,819 adults age 18 and older in the D.C.Metro Area

The low levels of utilization of the food assistance network beg questions about what barriers people are experiencing to accessing charitable food. Accordingly, this year’s study included questions about these barriers to understand the relative impact of various forces and find suggestions for how to improve access. The findings are below:

The top three barriers relate to awareness, which is a challenge, but fortunately not an intractable one. The charitable food network can work together to compile information on its services and make that information highly accessible through multiple channels and strategies. For example, an automated texting service that provides users with information about food pantries open near them; awareness campaigns about the vast network of free food resources in the DMV; and promotion of existing informational resources like CAFB’s Get Help map with other social service nonprofits, could all significantly drive awareness and utilization of food pantries in the region.

The fourth barrier relates to the hours of operation of the network. The CAFB-NORC study also asked food insecure people when the most convenient time would be to access food pantries given their other obligations and access to transportation, and the majority of respondents said weekends over weekdays. Comparing this to the composite hours of operation among the several hundred sites CAFB supports, there is a significant opportunity to reach more people by offering expanded weekend hours.

The fifth through seventh barriers are primarily psychological and relate to the stigma associated with charitable food. This is a complex barrier, but it can be addressed through more culturally familiar service delivery (culturally familiar foods, staff and volunteers that reflect the diversity of the communities they serve, signage in multiple languages, etc.), as well as trauma-informed care training for staff and volunteers, and limiting data collection to only what’s necessary.

Insight from a local leader

“The population experiencing food insecurity is also experiencing insecurity in a myriad of other areas – housing, transportation, childcare, employment, etc. Our responsibility as a network of solutions-based providers is to support this population in meeting their needs. The heavy burden of navigating complex systems, gathering difficult-to-find information or visiting multiple locations to access support can be daunting.  We have a significant opportunity to make it easier to access the help they need.”

The Capital Area Food Bank is engaged in a multi-year, network-wide strategy to address these barriers (and more) across the region. The guiding principles of the work are client centricity, equitable access, and addressing the root causes of food insecurity, with key outcomes in the community including:

  • More diverse and convenient locations for accessing free food
  • More equitable access to charitable food by geography within the region
  • Greater use of referrals between food relief and other social service organizations
  • More culturally familiar foods offered across the network
  • Greater language capabilities among staff and volunteers at food distributions

These outcomes are not for the charitable food system to pursue alone but require participation from many different stakeholders. New types of partnerships between food relief actors and social service agencies, cultural centers, libraries, the growing home delivery infrastructure, and more are necessary to expand the reach of this support to those who need it.

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Conclusion

Despite the largely rosy reports of an economy that has seemingly regained its strength and health post-pandemic, the data are clear that these gains are not being felt equally. Rather, disparities in metropolitan Washington have only continued to deepen, and as a result, more people are experiencing financial hardship and the difficult realities – including food insecurity – that come with it.

The toll this takes is profound. More and more individuals without consistent access to nutritious food are facing an uphill battle to focus, stay healthy, and succeed in school and on the job. This can hamper their ability to meet their full potential in all aspects of life, both in the short and longer term, diminishing future opportunities and earning power. And these impacts on individuals, in turn, threaten the well-being of communities across our area.

These repercussions will only grow more severe over time should the trends in this report continue in the current direction. Increasing hunger and inequity will create greater individual and community suffering, while also harming our region’s ability to meet its talent needs and stay competitive.

These issues affect us all. And solving them will require our collective commitment to solutions that will stop these socioeconomic gaps from widening and begin to reverse this troubling trajectory. Through concerted investment in thoughtful policy, programs, and practices, we can – and must – create a future where our neighbors have the support and resources they need so that all of us can thrive.