Photo: Michael Loccisano / Getty Images
Many Hispanics in the United States who struggle to feed their families in the past pandemic year say they have had a hard time figuring out how to get help and have had trouble finding healthy foods that they can afford.
One survey conducted by the Impact Genome organization and the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that the 32% of Hispanics living in the U.S. have not been able to eat enough or the types of food they want.
Most people facing food challenges enrolled in a government food assistance program or non-profit organization last year, but the 58% still had difficulty accessing at least one service.
The 21% of US adults facing challenges in meeting their dietary needs were unable to access any assistance.
The most common challenge for those in need was a basic lack of awareness of eligibility for government and non-profit services.
The survey results show an overview of a country where hundreds of thousands of households were suddenly plunged into food insecurity due to economic disruption of the COVID pandemic – 19.
They are often faced with the intimidating bureaucracy of government assistance programs and with limited knowledge of local food banks or other available charitable options.
African Americans and Hispanics living below the l federal poverty line and younger adults are especially prone to food challenges, according to the survey.
For Acacia Barraza, homemaker in Los Lunas, a rural town outside of Albuquerque, New Mexico, the challenge has been to find a constant supply of fresh fruits and vegetables for her 2-year-old son without breaking the family budget.
Barraza, of 34 years, left her job as a waitress before the pandemic when her son was born.
She considered going back to work, but the intermittent shortage of childcare as the pandemic gripped her made it impossible, she said.
The family lives off her husband’s salary as a mechanic while receiving assistance from SNAP, the government program commonly known as food stamps.
Despite government help, Barraza d I go to the AP agency, which is still struggling to find affordable sources of fresh vegetables, actively scouring local markets for bargains like a $ 2 bag of fresh spinach. 99 Dollars.
Radha Muthiah, president of the Capital Area Food Bank in Washington, said the shortcomings reflected in the survey are evidence of a new phenomenon triggered by the pandemic: families with no experience with food insecurity are suddenly in need, unaware of charitable options and government assistance programs.
“Everything is new to them,” he said. “Many individuals and families, especially those experiencing food insecurity for the first time, are unaware of their full range of options.”
Many are wary of participating directly in government programs such as SNAP and WIC, the parallel government food assistance program that helps mothers and children.
“Reliance on convenience stores is a particularly worrying dynamic,” said Muthiah, “because options there they are more expensive and generally less nutritious. ”
Gerald Ortiz from Española, New Mexico, bought a Chevy truck 1200 before the pandemic, then lost the office job he had had during 20 years.
Now hurry to do monthly payment of $ 600 dollars and he gets by through charity and simply eating less. Your unemployment payments ended this month.
“I make sure my truck payment is done,” Ortiz said, as he sat in a row of some 30 cars waiting to collect food from a charity, Barrios Unidos, in nearby Chimayó.
“After that, I only eat once a day,” he said, pointing to his stomach. “That’s why you see me that I’m so thin now.”
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