world. It ranks first based on total GDP and

seventh based on GDP per capita.

Yet when it comes to food security, America ranks

22nd among developed countries.

People are working hard every day in this country

to bring food home for theirselves and their

families. But right now, in the United States, we

are facing a hunger crisis.

33.8 million Americans didn't have adequate

access to food, according to the latest report from

the USDA. That's 13.5 million or 10.2% of all

U.S. households in 2021.

I literally stand on Second Avenue at 4:00 in

the morning. I'd get off the subway and go around

behind the restaurants and wait for the bakeries

to deliver bread.

When you're that hungry to steal bread from the

restaurants behind the stores, you're hungry.

Spending on food assistance programs has

grown exponentially, reaching a record of

$182.5 billion in 2021.

But food insecurity has only improved slightly

since 2001.

While the number of people experiencing very

low food security grew slightly during the same

period.

We see times when the economy is doing better,

it improves. But we haven't seen major

movements on the metric, I would say.

The latest research from the Bread Institute in

2014 says the U.S.

has lost almost $5.5 billion due to lost

productivity caused by hunger.

It's much less expensive to feed you than it is

many other of our societal challenges.

Let's start with food, because the impact on the

system is incredibly expensive and will live on

for generations.

So why are so many Americans still hungry and

what can be done to solve it?

Food prices soared to record heights in 2022,

pressuring households already in a pinch.

Annual food at home prices climbed by 11.4% in

2022 compared to the year prior.

Food inflation, as we've seen during the pandemic,

has gone up, driven in large part by supply chain

disruptions and shortages of food supply during the

pandemic.

Several experts point to income as the major cause

behind food insecurity in America.

Issues of affordability and equity are the two

driving forces across the United States.

You can be working, yet you still need help.

And so the wages are not carrying Americans far

enough.

The resources they have are so strange that paying

the light bill, paying for child care, gas to get

to work is trading off against food.

The financial pressure from buying food gets

higher, the less you make .

In 2021, the bottom 20% of households with the lowest

income spent 30.6% of what they made on food,

compared to just 7.6% for households in the highest

income quintile.

It's a problem that Gregory Bruce, a bow tie

maker in Harlem, experiences every day.

I have actually $0.88 in my bank account right now.

June was not a good bow tie month.

I'm not crying, but I still come here every

afternoon and get my dinner, which I don't eat

until 7:00.

The food bank is open five days a week,

generally. Saturday and Sunday, there's no food

available. And that's when it hits you.

Meanwhile, nearly a quarter of households that

include a working adult with a disability were

food insecure, compared to just 7% of households

without disabilities.

The leading predictor of food insecurity in United

States is disability status by far, especially

mental health challenges.

Socially disadvantaged individuals are the ones

most heavily impacted by food insecurity.

Take communities of color, for example.

Nearly 1 in 5 Black households and 16.2% of

Hispanic households suffered from food

insecurity in 2021, compared to just 10.2% of

non-Hispanic minority households and 7% of white

households.

Income is important, but the more important thing

is the constraints that, especially those who are

most vulnerable amongst us are facing.

If economic opportunity isn't equally shared,

which it isn't yet in our country, that means that

it's going to have the same impact on food

insecurity, and it's a problem we need to

address.

Food deserts have also been widely blamed as

another main cause of hunger.

USDA estimates that about 53.6 million people, or

17.4% of the population in the U.S.

live in areas considered low income and low access,

meaning the nearest supermarket is more than

one half mile or 10 miles away.

Food deserts are something that plague us.

It's part of the systematic failure that we

have in America.

If you don't have access to food, you are just

increasing your chances of greater food

insecurity.

But some experts argue that access isn't the

issue. A 2018 study from the National Bureau of

Economic Research concluded that exposing

low-income households to the same products and

prices as high-income households had no

meaningful effects on eating habits.

All of us in the food insecurity space know that

they're completely irrelevant. I'd much

rather have somebody have, say, a Walmart

within 1.5 miles than a poorly stocked food store

within two blocks.

In other words, it's food prices that matter, not

food access.

I think part of this is how problems compound

problems. If you are someone who's living in

poverty, has very low income, you might be

living in a neighborhood that doesn't have great

access to high quality grocery stores.

So they are a little bit mutually reinforcing.

But to me it is the economics and the income

are the biggest drivers.

Food insecurity is an expensive burden to the

U.S. economy as a whole.

Food security should be a business imperative.

It relates to productivity. It relates

to a team that can come in every day and work and

create a product.

If your workers are hungry, they're going to

struggle with work.

The latest research from the Bread Institute says

the U.S. has lost over $5 billion due to lost

productivity caused by hunger as of 2014.

If a child is hungry, you cannot teach them.

It's not going to happen.

And if that brain doesn't develop properly, then

there is going to be all kinds of societal problems

carried on for generations.

Bread Institute also estimates the cost of

special education caused by hunger to be over $5.9

billion in 2014, while nearly $13 billion are

lost due to dropouts attributed to food

insecurity in the United States that same year.

It frustrates me that our political system and

politicians don't grab something so easy.

It's much less expensive to feed you than it is

many other of our societal challenges.

Let's start with food, because the impact on the

system is incredibly expensive and again, will

live on for generations.

The latest data from Feeding America estimates

that food insecurity costs the U.S.

$52.9 billion in health-care costs back in

2016.

There's so many negative health consequences

associated with food insecurity.

A 2022 analysis from the American Action Forum

estimates that just four nutrition related chronic

diseases among 18 to 64 year olds cost the U.S.

$16 trillion between 2011 and 2020.

When you are hungry, your body takes your body away.

You are consumed by your inner self.

Your brain doesn't function right.

You don't think well.

Everything goes wrong.

And if you're a senior citizen, especially if you

have some problems with walking or you've got some

kind of intrinsic ailment or something like that,

that's going to get exacerbated beyond

control.

Food insecurity is absolutely a solvable

problem.

In a wealthy country like ours, that people are not

having enough food. This is a solvable problem.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture budgeted $163

billion for major nutrition assistance

programs in 2022.

Among them, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance

Program, or SNAP, is the largest domestic food

assistance programs for low-income Americans.

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimate

that SNAP reduces the overall prevalence of food

insecurity by as much as 30%.

SNAP or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance

Program is what we have called food stamps for

many years. This electronic benefit is

available to Americans that qualify based on

their household size and their income.

You give individuals an EBT card which allows

people to shop alongside their neighbors and

friends in their local food stores.

SNAP is an amazing, amazing program.

It sets out to alleviate food insecurity and study

after study has demonstrated that it does.

But despite its effectiveness, many are

falling through the cracks. SNAP eligibility

is based on the poverty threshold, but the Union

of Concerned Scientists estimate that almost 1 in

5 households with incomes between 130% and 185% of

the poverty threshold do not qualify for SNAP, even

though they are considered food insecure.

We have heard concerns that SNAP isn't available

to enough families in need.

It is a program that is highly targeted to very

low-income families, and Congress sets the

eligibility criteria for SNAP, and they certainly

have the opportunity to review those rules and

take a look at whether the program could be

expanded.

A major complaint concerning SNAP also

revolved around its amount.

In 2021, 1 in 3 households that received

SNAP still had to visit the food pantry due to a

lack of budget.

6 out of 10 SNAP recipients also reported

that food prices prevented them from buying

nutritious food.

That was until a big change was made the same

year.

The Thrifty Food Plan was increased by 20%, which

means everybody's across the board, SNAP benefits

increased by 20%.

I mean, that was a big, big deal.

So in other words, yes, I think SNAP benefits should

be somewhat higher.

But on the other hand, a 20% increase in benefits

is great. I think we should increase them

further. 20% is great, though, and I don't want

to, I never want that to be diminished.

So we're really pleased with the benefit that the

program offers. We'll be able to do that

reevaluation every five years under federal law.

And we'll keep looking at whether the program is

accomplishing its goal, which is supporting

families with enough money to purchase a very

basic but healthy diet.

Aside from increasing SNAP, advocates suggest

additional programs that focus on feeding the most

vulnerable.

America doesn't seem to like us or think about us

in the way that they think about other things.

You know, this is not political. This is far

beyond politics.

We need to feed our elders. They've served.

We need to feed our veterans. They have

served. We can start with some simple things.

We just need to feed children. We need to make

sure there is good food in every school, every

public school in the United States.

Big task. But it would make a huge difference.

In 2022, the Biden-Harris administration pledged