NEW: Feeding America’s Map the Meal Gap

Every year, Feeding America releases its Map the Meal Gap report. This report consolidates data from across the country to estimate rates of food insecurity in various communities and the specific ways that food insecurity functions in each county.

Among other sources, Feeding America uses tax data, so the group always releases findings from two years prior. This data informs a good deal of anti-hunger advocacy work, especially here at LAMA, as it gives us a big-picture view of hunger and the various factors influencing food insecurities.

The report has been updated to reflect data from 2022! The data is presented in an interactive map; we hope you will take some time to review it!

There are some important take aways from this update.

Food insecurity in Arizona is increasing; in 2021, just over 10% of Arizona residents reported facing food insecurity; the newest data tells us that 13.1% of Arizona’s residents are struggling with hunger (Food insecurity is defined by the United States Department of Agriculture as the lack of access, at times, to enough food for an active, healthy life).

The food insecure population has risen in raw numbers as well; it’s estimated that 963,130 Arizonans are currently facing food insecurity. It is also estimated that our state budget falls more than $666,000,000 short of the amount needed to alleviate food insecurity for all. Most interestingly, 53% of Arizonans struggling to put food on the table make too much money to participate in the SNAP assistance program; this is indictive of inflation and rising cost of living that wages and the SNAP program have not yet caught up to. This also means that these folks must rely solely on food banks, charities, and feeding ministries to make ends meet.

We hope you will take some time to review the map and learn about hunger around AZ and across the country!