Hunger in Our Community
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Fairfield County Residents Face Food Insecurity (a 20% Increase in Two Years)
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At Least One Child of Every Six Is Hungry Or At Risk Of Hunger
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Our Black and Hispanic Populations Are Twice as Prone To Be “Food Insecure”
Food Insecurity among the Overall Population in Connecticut
As part of its Food Insecurity Report, published May 14, 2025 (2023 data), Feeding America’s “Map the Meal Gap 2025” shared some alarming details of the increased need across every demographic and age group across the nation.
Specifically in Connecticut:
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516,640 people in Connecticut are food insecure (an annual increase of 10.36%)
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1 in 7 Connecticut residents are food insecure, compared to 1 in 8 last year
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1 in 6 children in Connecticut are food insecure
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1 in 4 Black persons in Connecticut are food insecure
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1 in 3 Hispanic persons in Connecticut are food insecure
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1 in 10 White non-Hispanic persons in Connecticut are food insecure
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43% of Food Insecure People in Connecticut are not eligible for SNAP benefits
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Annual food budget shortfall in Connecticut: $359,535,000 (to purchase just enough food to meet food needs)
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Hunger Facts
It’s often hard to imagine how right here in Connecticut’s Gold Coast, more than 12% of Fairfield County residents face food insecurity, and at least one child of every six is hungry or at risk of hunger.
Our Black and Hispanic populations are most acutely affected and twice as prone as whites to be “food insecure,” lacking reliable access to enough nutritious food for to live an active, healthy life.
Specifically, food insecurity among children in Connecticut increased 40% between 2020 and 2023, with 30,000 more children unsure of where their next meal might come from. Food insecurity among senior residents also rose by 52% during that time period, an increase of 16,000 people.
Since the pandemic –according to Feeding America’s latest report, food insecurity in Connecticut rose 40% as 152,000 more individuals were unsure about the source of their next meal in 2023 than in 2020.
Though Feeding America’s data only covers the period through 2023, food insecurity in Connecticut has gotten yet worse since then, based on his anecdotal evidence from the food trucks and pantries Connecticut Foodshare supplies.
