Map the Meal Gap: Navigating the Fight to End Hunger
One in 10 neighbors in our service area of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore goes to bed hungry every night. But how do we know this, and more importantly, how can we use this information to make a difference?
Introducing Map the Meal Gap, a food insecurity study revolutionizing how we’re tackling hunger. In this blog, we’ll dig into what Map the Meal Gap is, how it works, and how it creates a lasting impact in our community.
Charting Progress
Map the Meal Gap, led by Feeding America, is more than just a report; it’s a powerful tool in the fight against food insecurity. The only study of its kind, the project provides a county-by-county breakdown of food insecurity across the United States, pinpointing exactly how many meals and funds are needed to close the gap between those who have enough to eat and those who don’t.
The goal? To equip local communities with the data they need to combat hunger effectively. By focusing on and understanding food insecurity at the local level, organizations like the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore, as well as policymakers and community leaders, can tailor efforts to meet the specific needs of our communities.
The Science Behind the Map
Mapping the Meal Gap isn’t guesswork—there’s concrete data to back it up. Since 2009, the study has collected publicly available state and local data from reputable sources, including the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Map the Meal Gap also estimates local meal costs and food budget shortfalls using food price data from Nielsen IQ.
Key metrics such as poverty levels, food costs, demographics, and racial and gender income inequality are analyzed. These factors improve our understanding of who is hungry, why they’re hungry, and what barriers they may face in accessing nutritious food.
Updated annually, Map the Meal Gap ensures we’re always working with the most current information. The study uses data gathered to estimate food insecurity rates for every community in the country. This approach allows us to see beyond state and national averages down to the local level, to understand and respond to the needs of families in Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore.
Bringing It Home
According to the latest Map the Meal Gap data, 100% of counties and congressional districts in the United States are home to people facing food insecurity. In our service area of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore, 10.5 percent of the population, equalling more than 132,240 people, don’t always know where their next meal is coming from.
Despite our tireless work at the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore, there’s still a significant meal gap to be filled. Last year, we distributed over 24 million pounds of food to people in need in our communities.
Closing the Gap
Now that we understand the scope of the problem, it’s time to take action:
- Donate money for food. Just $1 can provide two meals and $.92 of every dollar donated goes directly to those in need.
- Donate to food banks and pantries. Food items and non-perishable goods such as canned vegetables, pasta, rice, and peanut butter are always in high demand.
- Volunteer your time by organizing food drives, sorting and packing food for distribution, or offering administrative support.
Map the Meal Gap is more than just a study—it’s a call to action. By providing us with accurate, localized data, it empowers us to create strategies to fight hunger more effectively than ever before.
But data alone can’t solve hunger. It takes all of us working together to turn these insights into real change. In the fight against hunger, local action backed by solid data can help create a future where food insecurity is a thing of the past.