Study Shows Pandemic Could Greatly Increase New Mexico Hunger

Pre-pandemic, here in New Mexico – 315,990 people, including 114,180 children, did not have adequate access to nutritious food to live a healthy life. However, this new study demonstrates that this number is likely to grow 118,580, including 48,780 children. That means approximately 434,570 or 21 percent of New Mexican people (1 in 5) may experience food insecurity in 2020, including 162,960 children (1 in 3).

Roadrunner Food Bank (RRFB) last week issued a dire forecast of the magnitude of  hunger and food insecurity in New Mexico this year because of the COVID-19 health emergency and related economic downturn. The RRFB projection is based on the Feeding America report, The Impact of the Coronavirus on Local Food Insecurity, which projected rates for every state.

According to RRFB, one in five adults and one in five chidren could face hunger in 2020 because of COVID-19.

Here is a RRFB news release on July 16.

"The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic will have had a devastating impact on people facing hunger across the country and in New Mexico according to a new study by Feeding America, the nation’s largest hunger-relief organization. This study is the first of its kind to explore how food insecurity rates at the local level may increase in 2020 due to COVID-19.

The Impact of the Coronavirus on Local Food Insecurity analyzes food insecurity rates for the overall population and children by state, county and congressional district. Pre-pandemic, here in New Mexico – 315,990 people, including 114,180 children, did not have adequate access to nutritious food to live a healthy life. However, this new study demonstrates that this number is likely to grow 118,580, including 48,780 children. That means approximately 434,570 or 21 percent of New Mexican people (1 in 5) may experience food insecurity in 2020, including 162,960 children (1 in 3).

“Families continue to reel from the impact this pandemic created — devastating their income and finances. New Mexico families are struggling to afford all their family needs including food,” said Mag Strittmatter, president and CEO of Roadrunner Food Bank. “As unemployment remains high, we will continue to work and provide food to communities across our state so that none of our neighbors who are hungry are left out. So many of our friends and neighbors are living a life-changing event that brought them face-to-face with hunger for the first time in their lives.”

This new analysis was conducted by building upon the approach Feeding America used in two earlier briefs to predict changes to national food insecurity rates for the overall population and children in response to changes to poverty and unemployment. The annual projected unemployment rate (11.5%) is within close range of expert estimates when annualized, including those from a monthly Wall Street Journal survey of more than 60 economists as of May (11.6%), the Congressional Budget Office (11.4%), and Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research (10.3%), and represents an increase of 7.6 percentage points.

To account for local unemployment variation, this new analysis adjusts the projected national unemployment increase for likely job loss due to COVID-19 based on an analysis of projected changes in the unemployment rate by industry and occupation by Goldman Sachs Investment Research. The projected local unemployment change for New Mexico is 8.4 percent points. Current local data from New Mexico Workforce Solutions shows unemployment in April at 11.4 percent and May at 8.8 percent in the state.

The underlying analysis for the food insecurity projections was conducted by Dr. Craig Gundersen using the model developed for Map the Meal Gap, Feeding America’s annual study of local food insecurity and food cost in the United States."

Key findings for New Mexico from the report 

• Luna and McKinley counties have the highest expected rates of hunger during the pandemic with nearly 28 percent of the population at risk of experiencing hunger. 
• Catron, Luna and McKinley counties have the highest expected childhood hunger rate during the pandemic with more than 44 percent of children in those three counties at risk of hunger.  
• County by County Data    Overall Hunger    Child Hunger

Community Assistance Needed
With resources stretched to the limit, Roadrunner Food Bank continues to ask the community to help meet the ongoing need expected to impact our state throughout this year and potentially next. Families will struggle to recover lost income over many months of no or very little work, as they attempt to balance the needs of their family’s needs with the continuation of this ongoing pandemic.

Ways to Help

• Give Funds – Financial contributions go much further in moments like these, and support will help to provide funding to obtain what is needed most. 
•  Give Time – Register for a volunteer shift through the food bank website at rrfb.org, or call 505.349.8841 or 505.349.8837 during business hours Monday – Friday from 8 am to 4 pm, and Saturday’s from 8 am to 2 pm. 
• Give Food – Non-perishable food donations will be accepted at the food bank during business hours. Community members who are ill or experiencing any symptoms of an illness should arrange for another person to deliver food donations to the food bank. As the food bank fleet must remain focused on delivering food, food pick-ups will not be available.