Concerning a global hunger pandemic, we are unwilling to see millions of Americans rely on charity to put Thanksgiving dinner on the table this year, as hunger surges amid the devastating, spiraling Covid-19 pandemic. 26 million US citizens now say they don’t have enough to eat, as the pandemic worsens and holidays near. A Feeding America analysis estimates that 15 million more people will live in food insecure homes in the USA this year, compared with pre-pandemic estimates. There will be 50 million Americans in total who won’t have enough to eat this year, in part because of the pandemic. The number of hungry Americans in the US is trending towards recession numbers, when 56 million Americans were food insecure. For families with children, hunger is three times higher than in 2019.

California follows the same trend as the US. California Hunger Fact Sheet discloses that California Food Insecurity is 11.7%, 4.6 million Californians facing food insecurity before the COVID-19 Pandemic. Since the pandemic started, that number is estimated to have doubled, according to research from Northwestern University. This lack of reliable access to food is even more severe for Black and Latinx households. 

How to support these 50 million Americans and 8 million Californians with food insecurity?

Advocates from Nourish California proposed advancing the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in two dimensions. First, increase the maximum SNAP benefit level, such that families get more in SNAP benefits each month. Second, set the eligibility thresholds higher for SNAP, such that more people will pass both the gross and net income test, bringing more people into the program. If these two proposals were implemented, we would find roughly a 60 percent decline in food insecurity in our country. 

Where will the funding come from?

In April 2020, the USDA allocated $850 million for food banks’ administrative costs and food purchases through the CARES Act. The Department of Agriculture says it has an additional $873.3 million available to purchase agricultural products for food banks. But Feeding America says the need for additional federal aid will grow in the coming months. “Unfortunately, the need continues. We estimate that over the course of the next 12 months, the gap between what we have and what our neighbors are going to need is about 8 billion meals,” says Babineaux-Fontenot. We don’t have enough funds.

No-one-in-hunger.org proposes a luxury tax bill on high-end restaurants to support the hunger families starting from California. Per CHD Expert’s data. the fine-dining segment rakes in more than $10 billion in sales per year. A half to one percent “NOIH” (No One In Hunger) tax would be added to the high end / fine dining consumer’s check. Several dozen million dollars in California and several hundred million dollars in the US could be raised to support food insecure families from this bill. This bill might not totally solve the food insecurity issue, but could provide strong support from the fine diners.

References and Further Readings: 

1. California Hunger Fact Sheet
2. Hunger in America
3. Advocates looking at longer term solutions as food insecurity grows during pandemic (10/25/2020)
4. There is a hunger crisis in America this Thanksgiving (11/25/2020, CNN)
5. Purple Tulare County braces for ‘food cliff’ ahead of holidays, COVID-19 surge (11/25/2020, USA Today)
6. ‘No end in sight’: hunger surges in America amid a spiraling pandemic (11/25/2020, The Guardian)
7. A growing number of Americans are going hungry: 26 million now say they don’t have enough to eat, as the pandemic worsens and holidays near. (11/25/2020, Washington Post)
8. A Hungry Thanksgiving For Millions: 1 In 8 Americans Didn’t Have Enough Food Last Week, Census Bureau Reports (11/25/2020, Forbes)
9. A 2-mile line in Arizona. A four-hour wait in Ohio. Millions seek help to avoid going hungry on Thanksgiving (11/26/2020, USA Today)
10. Restaurant Industry Facts at a Glance (restaurant.org)
11. Restaurant Sales on Pace for $863 Billion in 2019 (04/2020, QSR Magazine)
12. The Fine Tuning of Fine Dining (Food Service Equipment and Supplies)