Childhood hunger in Valley rises far above US average

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

A national study shows that Mahoning Valley children are more likely to face hunger than the overall population in America.

Second Harvest Food Bank of the Mahoning Valley announced the release of Map the Meal Gap 2019, the latest report by Feeding America® on food insecurity and the cost of food at both the county and congressional district level. It is the only study that provides food-insecurity data at the local level, said Michael Iberis, executive director of Second Harvest Food Bank in Youngstown.

Map the Meal Gap 2019 reveals that food insecurity exists in every county in Second Harvest’s service area. It also shows that children are more likely to be food insecure, with the child food-insecurity rate at 23.4 percent compared with 15.8 percent for the overall population, in Columbiana, Mahoning and Trumbull counties – areas served by Second Harvest.

Overall, food insecurity in the Mahoning Valley ranges from a low of 14 percent of the population in Columbiana County to 16.4 percent in Mahoning County, Iberis said.

“Each week, Second Harvest, through its network of 160 member agencies, is filling more than 13,000 requests for food assistance in Columbiana, Mahoning and Trumbull counties,” he said.

Read the full story Monday in The Vindicator and on Vindy.com.