Trending in #SNAP

Child food insecurity has been an ongoing problem and until June, there were no surveys assessing rates of child food insecurity during COVID-19. To address this issue the Census Bureau added a new question to the Household Pulse Survey (CHHPS) to gather and translate this information into current food insecurity data. With this newly released Census data it immediately began trending on twitter creating conversation around the unprecedented number of children in the US who are experiencing food insecurity and did not have sufficient food as of late June.

1. Lauren Bauer of the Hamilton Project, wrote a Blog post showing the stark increase of food insecurity in households with children and the racial disparities of those households as families continue to struggle to get food.

   About three in ten Black households with children and one in four Hispanic households with children did not have sufficient food due to a lack of resources in June 2020: https://t.co/7z8IBG7ZI7#SNAPmatters pic.twitter.com/AHR9Om1HQt

   — The Hamilton Project (@hamiltonproj) July 14, 2020

   According to a report below 3 in 10 Black households with children and 1 in 4 Hispanic households with children did not have sufficient food due to a lack of resources in June 2020.

3. Food & ag reporter at Politico magazine, Helena Bottemiller chimed in on the clear racial disparities among households.

   The racial disparities are clear. Overall more than 16% reporting children did not get enough to eat sometimes or often (5X what it was in 2018).
   
   Black households: 29%
   Hispanic households: 24%
   white households: 9%
   
   I previewed these findings here: https://t.co/OBAfM4Smj3

   — Helena Bottemiller Evich (@hbottemiller) July 10, 2020

5. Feeding America is encouraging everyone to fill out the U.S Census as this information can help inform the government of the effect this pandemic has had on households and the need for more benefits.

   🔢 The #2020Census is in FULL SWING! It will help:
   
   ✔️ Decide how billions in federal money will be spent
   ✔️ Ensure fair political representation
   ✔️ Assess needs in communities everywhere
   
   🙌🏽 This is a win for all of us. Get counted NOW: https://t.co/zvB953dwDl #AmericaCounts pic.twitter.com/wQGUV084AK

   — Feeding America Advocacy (@hunger) July 14, 2020

   On July 20th Feeding America along with other food advocates are encouraging everyone to call their local senators to #BoostSNAPNow and expand benefits.