By BLAISE MESA
The Beacon
From 2021 to 2022, the number of Kansas children who didn’t know where their next meal would come from grew by 37,000.
The rise in food insecurity shows up at food banks across the state.
Aundrea Walker, the executive director of Just Food, said 30% of the people it serves are under 18 years old. Walker has worked at the Lawrence-based food bank for 10 years. She’s never seen demand so high.
“The amount of individuals and households we’re serving is absolutely insane,” she said.
Walker said Just Food spends about $40,000 a month on food. That isn’t enough.
“We’re constantly running out,” she said.
Walker said the pantry had to create new, paid staff positions to collect more food. At other food banks, some families line up two hours before the pantry opens.
The jump in food insecurity is mostly attributed to two things: rising inflation and pandemic-era benefit programs running out. Combined, they leave less money for families and force tough choices between paying bills or eating.
The number of children who didn’t know where their next meal would come from jumped from 13.4% in 2021 to 19.1% in 2022, according to Kansas Action for Children’s 2024 Kids Count Databook.
“(I’m) alarmed by it,” said John Wilson, president and CEO of Kansas Action for Children. “When we see every single Kansas county experience an increase in food insecurity among kids, that’s troubling.”
Certain pandemic-era programs ran out at the end of 2021 or start of 2022. Families getting Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamps, could receive the maximum benefit. That ended. Congress temporarily expanded a child care tax credit giving families hundreds more per year. That didn’t make it past 2021. Cost-free student meals were an option. But that was gone by the summer of 2022.
To help kids in Kansas, “we have to help the people who care for them, too,” Wilson said.
Advocates for a stronger social safety want the Republican-controlled Statehouse to put more tax dollars toward things like food security.
Kansas Republicans not likely to address food insecurity
Republican leaders in the House and Senate didn’t say whether they’d debate bills to address the issue. Historically, the conservative state Legislature hasn’t seriously considered proposals in recent years that would expand SNAP or other social service programs.
Advocates for more public spending on social services say the Legislature has instead put up barriers.
The 2015 Hope Act bans state officials from using federal or state money to advertise SNAP programs on radio, billboards or television. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said only 70% of eligible people actually get SNAP benefits in Kansas. That’s below the national average of 82%.
Kansas is one of the last states in the country not using broad-based categorical eligibility. It’s a federal program that allows more flexibility in admitting Kansans to food benefit programs. It doesn’t guarantee more people get SNAP, but it can mean owning a car or having more assets doesn’t disqualify someone.
Kansas also permanently bans people with multiple drug felonies from getting food stamps, and just last year, the House Welfare Reform Committee supported a bill that would prevent families from buying candy or soda with EBT cards.
Republicans argue those policies protect against the misuse of tax money.
Rep. Francis Awerkamp, a St. Marys Republican, introduced a bill to prevent the Kansas Department for Children and Families from participating in the summer electronic benefits transfer for children program. That program gives Kansas families who are on free or reduced-price lunches a one-time, $120 payment for meals over the summer.
Awerkamp, chair of the Welfare Reform committee, didn’t respond to requests from The Beacon.
Walker, with Just Food, said the Legislature has done some things to help. It eliminated the sales tax on groceries, which helps when you spend $460,000 a year on food like her group does. She said efforts to cap inflation would also help, but food insecurity is a multifaceted problem that can’t be fixed with just one bill.
Looking to the 2025 session
The pandemic-era benefits programs cost millions, which is one reason Republicans are apprehensive about expansion. Haley Kottler, an advocate for a strong social safety net at Kansas Appleseed, said cheaper alternatives could feed more Kansans.
The Legislature could end the food stamps ban for Kansans with multiple drug felonies. The state could also simplify the food assistance application program so it isn’t as complicated to apply. Kottler also wants to see universal meal programs expanded.
Harvesters helps food banks in 17 counties in northeast Kansas and 10 counties in northwest Missouri. Sarah Biles, a Harvesters spokesperson, said the demand for food assistance hasn’t been this strong since the 2008 recession. Demand at food pantries was dropping year after year until the pandemic hit, and the 2022 numbers ballooned back up to the 2008 level.
Biles said government intervention is important. For every meal provided by a food bank or charitable organization, SNAP can provide nine meals.
“We definitely all need to work together to solve this issue,” she said. “There’s plenty of food in the United States. It’s a matter of getting all that food to where it’s needed most.”