Nearly 14,000 in Lebanon County suffer from food insecurity: report suggests solutions

The Central Pennsylvania Food Bank on Jan. 18 released its 76-page community hunger mapping report on Lebanon County, accompanied by a presentation by the food banks CEO Joe Arthur and several of the report's authors at the Lebanon Valley Chamber of Commerce building.

The report found that one in 10 Lebanon County residents experience food insecurity, and a similar number of residents visited a food pantry in the last year. Nearly 14,000 individuals in the county are impacted by food insecurity.

Ann Kunkel, vice president, community health, home care and hospice at WellSpan Health, said data shows that food insecure patients are eight to 10 times more likely to have uncontrolled diabetes and two to three times more likely to have a history of hypertension or coronary artery disease. She added that food insecure women are three times more likely to have gestational diabetes, and food insecure children are four to six times more likely to be obese.

"I'm not sure what else there is to say that underscores the importance of a nutritious, healthy diet and how incredibly important it is that everyone has access to the food they need to sustain their health," she said.

The areas experiencing the highest rates of food insecurity are Lebanon City, West Lebanon, Palmyra, East Hanover and Myerstown.

These areas, according to the report, contain 26% of the population of the county but 53% of all food insecure individuals. Lebanon City, with 18% of the county population, has 39% of all food insecure individuals.

There are also disparities in who is affected most by food insecurity.

Child food insecurity, for example, is a particularly acute issue, with children being 71% more likely to experience food insecurity than adults. The food insecurity rate for children is at 14.4% compared to adults at 8.4%.

Zach Zook, senior manager of policy research at the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank, explained that this differential is one of the most significant in the state, and it's very important for the county to have a focus on children and families with children.

Child food insecurity in Lebanon County dropped 28% in 2021 due to the expanded child tax credit, but those gains have been reversed since the expanded child tax credit ended, Zook said.

According to the report, this is one of the largest differentials in Pennsylvania and is driven by elevated child poverty, which is 38% on average in the high food insecure areas.

Hispanic individuals are most likely to face food insecurity in Lebanon County, with food insecurity rates of 23%. Black individuals in the county are second most likely, with insecurity rates of 18%. White, non-Hispanic individuals have a food insecurity rate of 7%.

Reducing very low food security

Very low food security, the most severe form of food insecurity characterized as reduced food intake, is extremely prevalent among food pantry visitors in Lebanon County. Some 41% of all food pantry visitors experience reduced food intake on a regular basis.

About 36% of food pantry visitors experience low food security, characterized by a reduced quality of dietary intake and uncertainty around food access, meaning that a combined 77% of food pantry visitors in Lebanon County face USDA-defined food insecurity.

Reducing the prevalence of very low food security should be the top priority of the charitable food system in Lebanon County, the report suggests.

The report found that the neighborhood experience and utilization of the charitable food system, SNAP participation and participation of key government programs, and economic factors such as household income, are all key factors directly impacting rates of very low food security.

Zook said part of the significance of this report is that for the first time, due to best practices implemented by the charitable food network in the county, they've been able to conduct analysis that quantifies for the first time the impact of the charitable food system and SNAP on food security status at local level.

The neighborhood experience

While the food pantry policies are generally in line with best practices, such as access to choice pantries, allowing visitors to visit more than once per month, varied days and hours of operations and consistent policies to serve households over 185% of the federal poverty level, there's still room for improvement to the charitable food system.

While building upon those best practices and expanding capacity investments of the charitable food system to better meet demand are two of their key findings, improving the neighbor experience is also an important piece of solving food insecurity.

A sizeable portion of neighbors surveyed in the report, as high as 10% at some pantries and around 6% on average, reported negative experiences with the charitable food system and recounted specific negative experiences.

To improve the neighbor experience at food pantries, the report recommended four key components that pantries should work towards:

• Implement volunteer and staff training to set expectations of behavior and treatment towards neighbors as well as assess the suitability of volunteers for front-facing roles and reassign them.

• Work to reduce wait times and lines at pantries by ensuring the quality and quantity of food offering are similar from start to the end of a distribution as well as by testing appointment methods while retaining flexibility for visitors. The report also recommends that they should work to move lines inside, as neighbors reported that inclement weather can prevent them from visiting a pantry.

• Solicit food preference feedback from neighbors, and the larger charitable network should support efforts to provide requested foods more regularly as well as offering culturally relevant foods.

• Expand awareness of pantry offerings in public spaces such as libraries, government offices and other key locations, as one-third of individuals screened as food insecure in non-food pantry surveys reported not knowing where to find a food pantry.

Increasing SNAP Participation

Increasing SNAP participation and utilization of other key government nutrition programs such as WIC and school breakfast and lunch programs is also a way to reduce very low food security rates.

According to the report, a 41% drop in SNAP benefits in the first half of 2023 corresponded directly with a 39% increase in food pantry visits in the county.

To help expand participation in these programs, the report recommends that pantries and county stakeholders should pursue a coordinated response to build connections with neighbors and provide information about additional services.

About 19,000 people in the county participate in SNAP, with 45% of pantry visitors being SNAP participants. They estimate that 85% to 90% of pantry visitors are likely eligible for those benefits.

"When asked during our surveys ... more than half of the people who said that they're not receiving SNAP told us that they had never even applied. Many stated that they did not think they were eligible, that they had personal reasons for not applying or expressed that the application or the renewal of benefits was too difficult to navigate," said Dawn Watson of the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank

Income and intersecting factors

Household income and systemic economic factors such as housing, transportation and access to financial institutions are also significant factors in very low food security.

Over half of pantry visitor households reported choosing between food and utilities or rent/mortgage, according to the report, which were the most highly reported economic trade-offs.

About 20% of households surveyed reported that they were worried about being forced to move in the next year, and 8% reported that they have been forced to move in the last year.

The report found that 27% of pantry visitors are unbanked, with an additional 14% considered underbanked, meaning that they have access to a bank account but utilize expensive alternative financial services.

Among several recommendations on these intersecting and upstream issues, the report recommends that interested stakeholders and the charitable food network should advocate for family-sustaining wages, ensure that they have foods suitable for unstable households and consider partnering with financial institutions to connect people to bank accounts targeted towards low-income individuals.

The full report can be read online at centralpafoodbank.org/take-action/policy-research/lebchm.

Daniel Larlham Jr. is a reporter for the Lebanon Daily News. Reach him at DLarlham@LDNews.com or on X @djlarlham.

This article originally appeared on Lebanon Daily News: Nearly 14,000 in Lebanon County PA suffer from food insecurity: report