A new report by the Second Harvest Food Bank shows more people are struggling to keep food on the table in East Tennessee. Leaders told 10News they have seen a 26% year-over-year increase, citing inflation as the biggest reason.
According to the most recent Map the Meal Gap data, more than 202,560 East Tennesseans are food insecure. That statistic includes 44,860 children.
Second Harvest distributed 26.3 million pounds of food last year, which amounts to about 22 million meals.
“While these stats are impactful, they only meet 57.7 percent of the need,” Elaine Streno, the food bank's executive director, said. “To fully bridge the meal gap, 16.1 million additional meals need to be provided annually in East Tennessee.”
Jon Rice, who works as the engagement and communications manager at Second Harvest, mentioned they are seeing more people showing up at mobile pantries and also more demand for their school food programs.
Rice added they have also noticed what he called a "benefits cliff" for a lot of people. According to him, those are the East Tennesseeans who are not eligible for SNAP benefits or government assistance to get food.
"45.9% of households who are food insecure just are not eligible for those SNAP benefits, so that is a huge portion of the population," Rice commented. "Especially in our service area and they are turning to us for that additional assistance because they have nowhere else to go."
Rice said they are doing what they can to secure more food and meet the growing demand, which includes having more trucks and more drivers.
Staff at Second Harvest said they need all the help they can get to address food insecurity in our communities. Here are some easy ways you can help out:
- Donate food or money
- Consider hosting your own food drive in your neighborhood
- Volunteer
- Be an advocate and spread awareness
"You probably have a neighbor that has either struggled with food insecurity in the past or is currently struggling with it," Rice pointed out. "So it is just one of those things, putting faces to the issue, and that is one of the reasons why I like to advocate for volunteerism so much because you are able to meet the neighbors who need assistance."
In 2023, volunteers contributed almost 40,000 hours to Second Harvest, which leaders said equals to having nearly 15 additional full-time staff.
If you need assistance with food or if you are looking to help out, you can reach Second Harvest by emailing info@secondharvestetn.org or by calling 865-521-0000.