Hunger in North Dakota

There seems to be some surprise that there is a need for food assistance in North Dakota, the state with the best economy in the nation. While it’s true that the oil boom has brought prosperity to many in the state, it has also brought rising costs of living for housing, food, childcare and other necessities.

For example, at the same time the economy was taking off in 2009-2010, the poverty rate also increased, marking the first statistically significant increase since 2004.  In 2011, 1 in 8 North Dakota people lived below the poverty line, meaning earning less than about $23,000 per year for a family of four. Put another way, 12.5 percent or 81,000 residents live at or below poverty level, including 24,116 children.

Did you know that 76 percent of low income families work? And that a fourth of working families have low incomes? In fact, 43 percent of households receiving SNAP (the program formerly known as Food Stamps) benefits have earned income. And here is another fact that some North Dakotans find surprising: 75 percent of North Dakota’s children born in 2011 were served by WIC, the special food and nutrition education program for low income mothers and children up to age 5 with nutrition risks.

When it comes to having enough money for food, 1 in 9 North Dakotans is food insecure, meaning that they do not have enough food every day for a healthy, active life. That includes nearly six percent of our senior citizens and 13 percent of children, or around 17,000 kids.

The efforts of the Great Plains Food Bank and the statewide network of food pantries, soup kitchens and shelters, along with programs like SNAP, WIC and school lunch and breakfast programs, play an important role in helping support parents in caring for our children. Hungry children cannot perform to their fullest ability in school, nor can employees fully concentrate and be their most productive at work without enough healthy food.

Senior meals programs for our older residents help provide quality, safe and adequate food, opportunities for socialization and help people remain living in their own homes and communities. In 2011, more than a million meals were served through home-delivered “meals on wheels” and meals at senior centers across the state.

As Governor Dalrymple noted in his State of the State address, “Taking care of our own is what we do in North Dakota.” And the recent report summary from the North Dakota 2020 and Beyond effort recognizes the need to address these issues by recommending the efforts of the Creating a Hunger Free North Dakota Coalition.

Though not a new sentiment, we believe “It takes a village to raise a child.” And making sure that our children and all our state’s residents can access enough healthy food is one thing we can do to end hunger in our state by 2020. We have the resources; we just need to find the will.

Writing for the North Dakota Economic Security and Prosperity Alliance,

Karen K. Ehrens, R.D., L.R.D.

Bismarck, ND 58501