Sufi Service Committee (Boston) | Issue 193

Addressing the most pressing needs of our commUNITY

“Behind every hardship, there is a great blessing.”

– Dr. Alireza Nurbakhsh, Founder of Sufi Service Committee

The Cost of Hunger 

This study seeks to understand and quantify the broader societal impacts of food insecurity. The study was conducted by the Greater Boston Food Bank and Mass. General Brigham.

Hunger Versus Food Insecurity

Hunger is the experience of personal, physical symptoms people feel when they don’t have enough food to eat.

Food insecurity is the experience of being unable to afford enough food to eat or worrying about where one’s next meal will come from.

Levels of Food Insecurity

There are two levels of food insecurity:

Low food security occurs when a person in a household must reduce the quality and/or variety of their meals or eat foods they don’t like because there is not enough money for food.

Very low food security is the most severe form of food insecurity and occurs when a person in a household must skip meals or not eat for the entire day because they don’t have enough money for food (3)

Child-Level Food Insecurity

Child-level food insecurity occurs when parents must change or reduce the foods that their children eat because they are unable to afford food. Caregivers often shelter their children from food insecurity and hunger as best they can by giving children the food that is available and skipping meals themselves.

Food Insecurity Rates

In 2024, more than 1 in 3 Massachusetts households—approximately 2 million adults—reported food insecurity at some point over the past 12 months. In addition, very low food security is on the rise. In fact, 24 %  of all Massachusetts households experienced very low food security in 2024. A total of 1 million households experienced food insecurity in the Commonwealth, including 650,000 reporting very low food security.

Over the last five years, food insecurity among Massachusetts households has steadily increased, rising from 19% in 2019 to 37% in 2024. Rates of very low food security, indicating the experience of food insecurity with hunger, have quadrupled during this time, from 6 %  in 2019 to 24 % in 2024. 

Communities at Risk of Food Insecurity

Across demographic groups, persistent and disproportionate impacts are evident (see Figure 2). Black and Hispanic households have consistently experienced the highest rates of food insecurity, with levels reaching 46 percent and 62 percent, respectively, in 2024. From 2019 to 2024, rates of food insecurity doubled among both Asian (from 16 percent to 32 percent) and White (from 15 percent to 32 percent) households.

LGBTQ+ individuals, seniors, and veterans experience particularly high rates of food insecurity. In 2024, 56 percent of LGBTQ+ individuals surveyed reported food insecurity. Veterans and active service members were found to have high levels of food insecurity at 35 percent.

Franklin and Hampshire Counties, Hampden County, Suffolk County, and Bristol County had the highest rates of food insecurity this year, with 1 in 2 households reporting food insecurity. Barnstable, Dukes, and Nantucket Counties, and Franklin and Hampshire Counties saw the highest increases from 2023 to 2024 (see Figure 3).

“I have had to forgo some healthy food choices in favor of cheaper, but less nutritious foods because of a tight budget, which has left me feeling frustrated and helpless.”

Nutrition Cost of Food Insecurity

Among food-insecure households in Massachusetts, 62 percent reported low nutrition security, an increase from 51 percent in 2022 (see Figure 4). 

“Healthy and well-balanced meals are hard to afford due to rising grocery prices. Food budgeting is stressful, even with aid programs. I frequently have to choose less expensive, processed foods since fresh produce, dairy, and proteins are too costly. Food Insecurity is about having the correct food, not just having food.” – Black LGBTQ+ father, SNAP participant, Hampden County

Voices of The Hungry

“If I did not have to worry about food [costs], I would …

“Get all the healthy food needed each day, week, and month. I [could] afford medications, go back to college to train in a skill needed to get my small business off the ground.” – Retired Hispanic woman, SNAP and food pantry participant, Berkshire County

“Be able to pay more bills and afford more household supplies, and savings.” – White man, Essex County

Financial Cost of Food Insecurity

Among households with food insecurity, 89 percent reported they had trouble paying for at least one other basic need (such as housing, heat and electricity, medical needs, transportation, child care, and/or debts or other bills), compared with only 26 percent of food-secure households (see Figure 5). Nearly half of food-insecure households reported having trouble paying for heat and electricity, debts, and housing. In fact, only 54 percent of food-insecure households reported having stable housing over the past 12 months, compared with 93 percent of food-secure households. One-third of food-insecure households reported struggling to pay for transportation (36 percent) and medical needs (33 percent). (1) (2).

1. The Greater Boston FOOD BANK

2. Mass General Brigham

3. Source: https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food- nutrition-assistance/food-security-in-the-us/ definitions-of-food-security

4. Editing by Mo Nooraee and Dr. Laura Ferrer. 

This research consists of two parts. This month, we are presenting you with the first segment. The second segment will be published later this year. If you wish to receive the complete version, please let me know. I would also love to hear your feedback on the content. Thank you. Mr. Noor  

HUNGER DOES NOT TAKE SUMMER OFF!

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Mo Nooraee, Sufi Service Committee (Boston)

 84 Pembroke Street, Boston, MA 02118 & 769 Concord Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138

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The Sufi Service Committee of Boston is a 501(c) charity organization. All donations are tax-deductible.