Hunger Facts

It’s often hard to imagine how right here in Connecticut’s Gold Coast, more than 10% of Fairfield County residents face food insecurity, and at least one child of every five 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.

Following the height of the pandemic, when school meal programs and other community programs resumed providing what is often the main meal of the day for many, food insecurity lessened to pre-pandemic levels.

However, the ensuing economic disruption has continued to challenge families and individuals to combat hunger on their own. Sharply elevated food prices, along with increased costs for other basic necessities, have worn household budget.

While unemployment rates have declined since early COVID, wage growth has not kept pace with rapidly rising inflation, and reports of food insecurity have again risen, reaching a level similar to that in the spring of 2020.