New data from Feeding America shows 30% of food insecure Kentuckians are ineligible for federal nutrition assistance under current program requirements.
Feeding America released their 2018 Map the Meal Gap depicting food insecurity on a county and congressional district level. The report reveals food insecurity exists in every Kentucky county.
According to their website, there are 685,830 food insecure Kentuckians who report needing more than $316 million to purchase enough food. Nearly 206,000 of those people are likely ineligible for federal nutrition assistance.
Tamara Sandberg is Executive Director for the Kentucky Association of Food Banks. She said food banks are the ‘last line of defense’ for people who don’t qualify for assistance from federal programs.
“If people are above 185% of poverty that means they earn too much money to qualify for food stamps and other nutrition programs like WIC, but they are still considered food insecure which means they don’t have consistent access to enough food for a healthy, active lifestyle,” said Sandberg.
Sandberg said proposed changes to the federal Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program has prompted concerns. She said for every one meal the KAFB provides, federal programs like SNAP provide twelve.
“We’re really worried about any potential cuts or changes to the SNAP Program though the Farm Bill,” said Sandberg. “Honestly, we are struggling enough as it is to keep pace with a need for food and we just need to make sure SNAP stays strong in the farm bill.”
The current House version of the farm bill includes work and/or work training requirements for SNAP recipients to remain eligible.