CONCORD, N.H. — Food insecurity in New Hampshire rose over 40 percent in one year, according to a new 2024 Feeding America report.
The report found that 41,000 more individuals in the state were food insecure in 2022 than in 2021, the most recent statistics. That estimate is based on the latest available data from the Current Population Survey, jointly sponsored by the US Census Bureau and US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
In New Hampshire, the food insecurity rate rose from 6.8 percent in 2021 up to 9.7 percent in 2022. Among children, the rate of food insecurity was even higher, at 13.4 percent — or 33,720 kids in the state without enough food for an active, healthy life.
Hispanic residents also experienced higher rates of food insecurity at around 28 percent, according to the report.
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The report found that as pandemic-era programs ended and the price of household expenses including food went up, food insecurity also increased.
The New Hampshire Food Bank announced on Tuesday that it would increase its fund-raising in an attempt to meet the heightened need.
“With food insecurity rising in a significant way throughout New Hampshire due to a number of factors, such as inflation and demographic disparities, we must meet the needs of our residents in every corner of the state,” said Eileen Liponis, executive director of the New Hampshire Food Bank.
“As the state’s only food bank, it is our mission to eliminate hunger in the Granite State,” she said.
The New Hampshire Food Bank is launching a 2024 Summer Meals Challenge, aimed at helping families when children aren’t receiving free or reduced lunch at school. A donor will match up to $100,000 in contributions.
A federal program is also designed to help families afford summer meals, but its fate remains uncertain in New Hampshire. Lawmakers have not yet finalized a bill that would fund the state’s cost to administer the program, which could bring around $4.5 million in federal funding. Eligible families could receive $120 per child, or $40 per month for groceries when the child isn’t in school during the summer months.
Laura Milliken, executive director of the nonprofit New Hampshire Hunger Solutions, an anti-hunger advocacy organization, said the sharp increase in food insecurity documented in the Feeding America report is consistent with levels of hunger her organization is seeing.
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“People in NH are experiencing high levels of food insecurity and the highest levels are among families with children,” she said.
New Hampshire Hunger Solutions uses data from the US Census Household Pulse, a monthly survey, to gauge food insecurity. It releases data on an ongoing basis, which Milliken said provides more timely information.
“Those data show that people are still reporting that they don’t have enough food,” she said. Data from April 1, 2024, show that over 40 percent of adults in New Hampshire and 54 percent of children were in homes with insufficient food.
“I think the Food Bank’s numbers do reflect the effect of the end of the COVID relief benefits and also the rise in the cost of housing, childcare and food,” she added.
She said the data is also consistent with what she has heard from the Food Bank and other pantries about higher numbers of people coming to them in need of food.
Amanda Gokee can be reached at amanda.gokee@globe.com. Follow her @amanda_gokee.