Food insecurity, defined by Feeding America as the lack of consistent enough access to food to lead a healthy life, is a pressing issue across the country, recently exacerbated by the end of pandemic-era benefits and the rising cost of living.

This harsh reality is underscored by the Hunger Matters in the U.S. Report, a representative survey of US adults recently commissioned and released by HelloFresh. According to the data:

• Food insecurity is a sweeping issue across America: Nearly one-third of Americans (32%) reported personal experience with food insecurity at some point, while 40% reported having a friend or relative who has experienced food insecurity. More than two-thirds of Americans (69%) acknowledged that food insecurity is a problem in America, while more than half (51%) acknowledged it is a problem in their own communities.
• The economy is top of mind for Americans: Almost three-quarters of respondents (72%) agreed the economy is causing a larger food insecurity crisis. At the same time, more than half of respondents (51%) cited cost and affordability as one of the biggest barriers to eating well. When asked about pressing issues in their community, Americans cited inflation as the top concern (77%), followed by poverty (66%).
• There is a generational divide, with young adults much more likely to go hungry: Respondents ages 18-34 were almost twice as likely to report having experienced food insecurity, compared to respondents ages 55+ (41% vs. 21%, respectively). More than one-third of 18-34 year old respondents (38%) said they believe they have experienced food insecurity in the last year.
• Americans are looking to brands and organizations to take action: More than two-thirds of Americans (68%) said they would like to see brands and organizations do more about the state of hunger and food insecurity. The top three actions that Americans reported they would like organizations to take to address food insecurity are: creating emergency food programs, such as food banks and meal programs (59%); directly donating to people facing food insecurity (51%); and advocating for government policy that focuses on the causes of food insecurity (42%).

“This research not only underscores that the need to fight hunger is tremendous, but also that people are looking for community organizations and brands like HelloFresh to work together to take action to address it,” said Jeffrey Yorzyk, senior director of sustainability at HelloFresh. “Hunger never sleeps so we are committed to continuing our fight against hunger, through the holidays and every day after, alongside our valued partners and customers.”

Fighting Hunger Through Public-Private Partnerships

HelloFresh created Meals with Meaning in 2020 to provide pre-packaged meal kits, with fresh ingredients and step-by-step recipe cards, to people in need—through partnerships with local nonprofits—where HelloFresh has distribution centers. HelloFresh has delivered more than 6 million meals and provides 40,000 meals to people in need each week in Atlanta, Dallas/Fort Worth, Newark, New York City and Phoenix. Earlier this month, HelloFresh and partners, the City of Newark and New Jersey’s first food rescue organization Table to Table, marked a significant milestone through its Meals with Meaning program: 2 million meals delivered to people facing food insecurity in the greater Newark area alone.

“In today’s economy, it’s truly a struggle to pay for necessities like rent, utilities and childcare and still have enough money to put healthy, nutritious food on the table. Often trade-offs must occur,” said Julie Kinner, vice president of operations, Table to Table. “For nearly a decade, Table to Table and HelloFresh have proudly partnered to not only provide and deliver fresh food to hungry neighbors but also to ease their stress and provide hope.”

Fighting Hunger By Supporting Individuals in Need

HelloFresh also will keep nominations for its LimeAid program open through the end of the year to help families in need through the holiday season. LimeAid is HelloFresh’s effort to fight food insecurity on the individual level by providing 3 months of free HelloFresh meal kits to people in need. Anyone can nominate a friend, loved one or neighbor, and the HelloFresh team assesses and chooses winners based on need. Since LimeAid’s inception, HelloFresh has supported nearly 500 families with this program. Nominations remain open here.

HelloFresh donates surplus food, ingredients, supplies, finished meal kits, employee volunteer hours and monetary contributions to organizations fighting food insecurity and food waste.

To learn more about how HelloFresh fights food insecurity and join in the action, please visit www.hellofresh.com.

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