Impacts on the Informal Food Assistance System during the Great Recession (WITHDRAWN)

Background and Purpose:

For many Americans the first awareness of the “Great Recession” came from media coverage of longer lines at food pantries. Only a fraction of unemployed workers received benefits during the recession of 2007-09.  Prior to the enactment of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) work requirements blocked enrollment to SNAP for many of the newly unemployed.  For many the only readily available source of support during the early days of the recession was the informal food assistance system.   

Research question

How did the informal food assistance system respond to the demands of the 2007-09 recession especially prior to the enactment of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act?

 

Methods and Sample

As part of a larger project that assessed changes in SNAP, WIC and other programs during the recession food bank directors and county level coordinators of the informal food assistance networks in the state of Pennsylvania were surveyed as to how the growth of the recession impacted the food bank/food pantry system, before and after the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).  Respondents were contacted via letter and used a link to an automated questionnaire administered through the Office of Institutional Research, Edinboro University of PA, who compiled the responses. SPSS was used to analyze survey responses.  

 

Results:

Large percentages of respondents in the sample said they noticed different people coming to the food pantry (89 percent), more people coming to the food pantry (87 percent), and people coming more often than previously (46 percent). Ninety-five percent of respondents reported that some clients asked for additional food beyond what was given to other clients. The amount of food distributed increased 41.7% from 50, 6772,300 lbs. in 2007 to 71,834,113 lbs. in 2010.

  Implications:  The informal food assistance system experienced a dramatic increase in the early days of the recession that it struggled to provide for. Reassessment of safety net programs to provide for faster response as need develops during economic downturns is indicated.