The survey was administered at Food Bank member agencies, including food pantries and meal sites between April and June of 2023. Trained volunteers and Food Bank staff surveyed people receiving food assistance in one-to-one interviews in either English or Spanish. A total of 459 surveys were completed at 65 randomly selected member agency sites.
“The findings of this year’s Hunger Survey underscore the critical need for food assistance across the state,” said Andrew Schiff, CEO of the Rhode Island Community Food Bank. “It’s becoming increasingly difficult for regular families to just get by and they’re having to make impossible choices as a result.”
“Collecting and interpreting this data is essential to understanding the specific needs of some of the most vulnerable populations in the state,” said Melissa Clark, the director of the Brown University School of Public Health’s Survey Research Center. “These data make it clear that advancing public health in Rhode Island means alleviating food insecurity.”
Schiff emphasized that while more and more people cannot afford adequate food, they are also facing hardships on top of food insecurity, such as health challenges. Additionally, several important COVID-19 relief programs, enacted by Congress to assist low-income families during the pandemic, ended in 2023 with the end of the federal public health emergency. While households faced the loss of these benefits, inflation rapidly increased the overall cost of living, creating a perfect storm for many Rhode Islanders. With this federal aid gone and high cost of living holding steady, Schiff urges the state to do more to reduce poverty, prevent hunger, and strengthen the safety net for low-income Rhode Islanders.