{"id":5084210,"date":"2020-05-22T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-05-22T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ctlatinonews.com\/food-safety-nets-are-straining-under-economic-meltdown\/"},"modified":"2020-05-22T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2020-05-22T04:00:00","slug":"food-safety-nets-are-straining-under-economic-meltdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/2020\/05\/22\/food-safety-nets-are-straining-under-economic-meltdown\/","title":{"rendered":"Food Safety Nets Are Straining Under Economic Meltdown"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Peggy McCarthy<\/a><\/strong>,<\/em> Health I-Team <\/a><\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n

Beyond the gleaming office towers overlooking I-95 in Stamford and the pleasure boats that frequent the city\u2019s marinas, thousands of city residents are struggling with hunger, a situation worsened by the pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n

Severe food needs in Stamford<\/a>, which has the most COVID-19 cases in Connecticut, reflect the state and national food emergency wrought by record unemployment. Consistent with the national experience, Latino and black residents, who comprise about 40% of the city\u2019s population, are disproportionately contracting COVID-19 and losing low-wage work. Latinos comprise 26% (33,000) of Stamford\u2019s population, blacks 14% (17,000).<\/p>\n\n\n

The Brookings Institution has reported that more than one in five households nationally were food insecure by the end of April. The Connecticut Food Bank, which services 270,000 people in its region, projects that the pandemic will result in as many as 187,000 additional state residents becoming food insecure.<\/p>\n\n\n

A 2018 DataHaven survey<\/a> titled the Fairfield County Community Wellbeing Index found that food insecurity was experienced in Stamford by 17% of blacks, 13% of Latinos, and 9% of residents overall. The pandemic and resulting loss of jobs have heightened that food insecurity. Social services providers say the crisis illuminates ethnic and racial disparities in health and income that lead to food insecurity.<\/p>\n\n\n

Many immigrants are undocumented and can\u2019t get unemployment compensation, said Catalina Horak, executive director of an immigrant program called Building One Community<\/a>, which offers educational and social programs. She says immigrants have lost jobs in restaurants, hotels, construction, landscaping, and as housekeepers and nannies without \u201cthe luxury of working from home.\u201d According to U.S. Census Bureau estimates, immigrants comprise 34% of Stamford\u2019s population of 129,775.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Building One Community has transformed into a temporary emergency agency with an onsite food pantry. It is also providing gift cards, Horak said. She gets about 100 calls daily from immigrants who are \u201cvery, very desperate,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n

Horak wondered if, after the pandemic, the Stamford community will \u201cflip the switch and pretend nothing happened.\u201d She said, \u201cIt has become more clear than ever that there are huge disparities in Stamford. Are we going to address them by giving money and food to the most vulnerable for a few months, or are we going to use this opportunity to understand the underlying issues and address them?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

\u201cI think that\u2019s what will define us,\u201d Horak said.<\/p>\n\n\n

\u2018We Make It Work\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

Before the pandemic, more than 57% of Stamford public school children received subsidized school meals, said Associate Superintendent Olympia Della Flora. She predicts that number will rise based on increased unemployment and a statewide surge of applications for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)<\/a> benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n

The school system now gives Grab-and-Go meals to any Stamford families that have asked for them. Between March 13 and April 29, about 131,000 meals were distributed in multi-meal packages, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n

Lynn McKee gets food for her 5-year-old grandson from Grab-and-Go and from Filling in the Blanks<\/a>, a nonprofit that provides items like applesauce, cereal, and pasta. Disabled and unemployed, McKee receives $34 a month in SNAP benefits. She doesn\u2019t complain. \u201cI don\u2019t want to be ungrateful,\u201d she said, adding, \u201cWe make it work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n