For the first time since 2014, a comprehensive hunger study in Kentucky has been conducted in partnership with Feeding America, revealing the attitudes, behaviors and barriers Kentuckians face when trying to access food.
The study covered 94% of Kentucky counties and found that food insecurity is driven in large part by affordability and transportation.
Melissa McDonald, executive director of Feeding Kentucky, said the transportation finding stood out.
"We knew affordability would be, you know that's again a preconceived notion, but transportation was big," McDonald said.
McDonald often uses the phrase "hunger knows no zip code" to describe the reach of food insecurity across the state.
"It doesn't matter if you're suburban urban or rural, hunger is everywhere in our state," McDonald said.
The study found hunger is significantly impacting families, especially those making $50,000 or less per year. Nearly two-thirds of respondents reported cutting or skipping meals in the past 12 months.
McDonald noted the particular burden on mothers.
"You ask many mothers that are on SNAP benefits, or even not on SNAP benefits are they feeding their kids first, you bet," McDonald said.
The majority of SNAP recipients in the study said their benefits usually last less than four weeks. 30% said they used them up in two weeks.
Here's a link to full results from the study: Home - Feeding Kentucky
