A new study shows that food insecurity rates have increased in southwest Missouri, according to Ozarks Food Harvest.
The annual study, Map the Meal Gap by Feeding America, estimates that food insecurity rates have increased from one in five children and one in six adults to one in four children and one in five adults in Ozarks Food Harvest's service area.
Ozarks Food Harvest spokesman Jordan Browning said they've seen an increase in demand across all 28 counties the food bank serves.
"And definitely, just like this report has come out and said, is that a large amount of that increase has come from the very rural sections of our community," he said. "And so, even before this study had come out, we see significant differences when we look at the rural community in regards to hunger rates for children and adults."
Twenty-one of the 28 counties Ozarks Food Harvest serves are rural. In those areas, 1 in 3 kids and 1 in 4 adults are facing hunger due to barriers such as access to food pantries, Browning said. "So, it becomes a very dramatic issue of how are we going to make sure that we can get food out in these communities when they may be already lacking resources like charitable organizations nearby or folks may be struggling with securing transportation to get to nearby grocery stores?" he said.
Ozarks Food Harvest is working to address that by offering more grants to its network of more than 270 faith-based and community charities to help increase food storage capacity. The food bank has awarded more than $300,000 in grants to increase that capacity through things like trucking, refrigeration and freezer units, "and that's gone a long way towards making sure that folks out in those rural sections of the community have access to the same resources that we do here in Greene County," said Browning.
The Map the Meal Gap shows that an estimated 40 million meals are now needed annually to ensure people in the Ozarks have enough food. That's a 50% increase over three years ago.
It found that food prices increased 20% over the last five years and that nearly half of all people experiencing food insecurity in the Ozarks don't qualify for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
Browning said it has become more challenging to meet the needs of those facing hunger in the Ozarks. He said they serve about 90,000 individuals each month.
He said the proposed Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) cost sharing changes in the so-called "One Big Beautiful Bill," which was passed by Congress last year, are expected to lead to even more people facing hunger. Those changes take effect at the start of FY 2027, which begins on October 1 of this year. Currently, states and the federal government split the state administrative costs evenly. But that's going to change to 75% for states and 25% for the federal government, "and what that means is the state will have to find additional funding somewhere north of about $29 million in order to continue implementing that program as it's being done today," said Browning.
Ozarks Food Harvest said it needs the community's help to provide food to those who need it. It takes donations of money and food items and relies on volunteers for a number of tasks.
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