17 percent of South Florida residents hungry or food insecure, new study shows

South Florida's economy is improving, but not fast enough to stem hunger and food insecurity in the region, a new study shows.

A total 17 percent of South Florida residents ? or 949,910 people ? go hungry or lack components to make nutritious meals. Children are among the hardest hit. More than 24 percent of children in the area, or 296,600, lack proper nutrition, according to the updated study by nonprofit food-bank Feeding America.

Worse yet, programs that aim to help the area's hungry remain short of cash, food and other resources to fill the need, executives from Feeding South Florida and other local groups concede.

"We have more and more people stopping by for help," said Terrence Smalley, an executive with The Pantry of Broward, a food bank that helps seniors on low, fixed incomes and grandparents raising their grandchildren. The nonprofit launched five years ago to serve "the forgotten generation" and now feeds more than 900 people every month, handing out about 24,000 pounds of food monthly.

Feeding America conducted its annual study with the Howard G. Buffett Foundation and The Nielsen Company to quantify food insecurity and related costs by county and congressional district nationwide.

The report found that South Florida's four counties ? Broward, Palm Beach, Miami-Dade and Monroe ? need $445 million per year to provide 154 million meals for residents who now lack proper nutrition.

Just 71 percent of those "food insecure" residents now qualify based on their income for food stamps and other federal nutrition programs, while 29 percent do not qualify and rely solely on food banks, nonprofits and other local groups for help, the study found.

Palm Beach County has the highest portion of food-insecure individuals who do not qualify for food stamps and other federal nutrition programs: 39 percent. Broward has the highest percentage of children lacking nutrition who do not qualify for the federal programs: 39 percent, the report said.

The 2013 tally shows little change in South Florida from last year, when 938,211 residents were considered food insecure. That's despite economic growth and more jobs in the area. The unemployment rate for Broward, for example, dropped to 5.7 percent this May, down from 7.4 percent a year earlier.

Indeed, Florida as a whole continues to face some of the country's most acute problems with food insecurity. The state is fifth-worst among the 50 states in food security. One in four children in Florida lack proper nutrition, compared with one in five children nationwide, the research found.

To help meet the need, Feeding South Florida, the local affiliate of Feeding America, last year handed out about 30 million pounds of food. But the nonprofit would like to distribute at least 50 million pounds yearly to serve more people, according to Paco Velez, chief executive of the Pembroke Park-based group.

"It's really about engaging the community ? individuals, companies, everyone ? and raising awareness that there are nearly 1 million people in our area struggling to put food on the table. We can help feed them and help lift them from poverty," said Velez. "With increased help from the community, we can put a dent in these numbers."

dhemlock@sunsentinel.com, 305-810-5009

Source: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/fl-south-florida-hungry-20130630,0,6625995.story?track=rss

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