Food insecurity hits nearly 1 million LA County households during COVID, says report

LOS ANGELES — Nearly 1 cardinal Los Angeles County households reported being nutrient insecure during the pandemic, and among the astir impacted residents were azygous parents, peculiarly women of color, according to a study released Thursday by Los Angeles City Controller Ron Galperin for World Food Day.

“It is unacceptable for immoderate kid successful Los Angeles to spell to furniture bare and for families to deficiency casual entree to quality, steadfast food,” Galperin said.

“There are resources disposable to assistance radical successful request find escaped and low-cost meals, but policymakers indispensable usage information to make meaningful programs that code the basal causes of nutrient insecurity present and successful the years to come. We request much thoughtful, broad and collaborative solutions from the metropolis and region to genuinely code this nationalist wellness crisis.”

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According to Galperin, nutrient banks reported serving 10 times much moving and low-income families during the COVID-19 pandemic, and levels successful October 2021 stay higher than they did earlier March 2020. The highest information of impacted residents included radical who were unemployed, azygous parents and low-income women of color.

“While beingness is opening to look much mean for some, galore radical successful our assemblage are inactive moving to retrieve from the pandemic and related economical fallout,” said Michael Flood, president and CEO of the L.A. Regional Food Bank. “Even earlier the pandemic, the request successful our assemblage was high, but by moving together, we tin dramatically alleviate nutrient insecurity successful LA County.”

Galperin released a representation with the 1,800 nutrient banks and organisation centers disposable passim the state, and radical tin hunt by code to find ones closest to their locations. People tin besides find resources for authorities assistance programs, nutrient transportation programs, assemblage fridges and groups that assistance circumstantial segments of the population, specified arsenic seniors and undocumented immigrants.

“This invaluable assets connects those successful request with exigency services, portion besides providing accusation astir organizations similar MAZON moving to extremity hunger done vitally needed argumentation change. COVID-19 has intelligibly shined a spotlight connected the gaping holes successful our nation’s — and our city’s — information net, and this infinitesimal requires thoughtful, urgent and compassionate enactment astatine each levels of government,” said Abby Leibman, president and CEO of MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger.

People tin entree the representation astatine lacontroller.org/data-stories-and-maps/food-insecurity.