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Fewer Baltimore-area residents experienced food insecurity last year than in 2023 even though researchers found profound racial disparities with hunger and access to grocery stores, according to the latest results from an annual survey by Johns Hopkins University’s 21st Century Cities Initiative.
One of the starkest findings of the Baltimore Area Survey in 2023, its inaugural year, was the high level of food insecurity across the region, especially among Black Baltimoreans.
But the latest survey found evidence “that food insecurity substantially declined and the drop was largest among Black Baltimore-area residents,” according to Michael Bader, faculty director of the 21st Century Cities Initiative, which brings together researchers from across Johns Hopkins to study urban issues.
The survey found that 28% of residents in the Baltimore region reported experiencing food insecurity last year, a 7.5% decline from the previous year. The decline was most pronounced among Black residents, dropping from nearly 54% two years ago to about 37% in 2024.
Still, the disparity between white and Black residents experiencing food insecurity “remained profound,” the researchers found. Only about 17% of white residents experienced food insecurity last year. Despite the progress, the region’s rate of food insecurity remained nearly twice as high as the national average.
Respondents also reported a significant racial disparity in access to grocery stores. About six out of every seven white Baltimore-area residents agreed they had convenient access to grocery stores compared to just 65% of Black residents.
“The rate of people experiencing food insecurity might have declined as inflation slowed over the past year, especially in food prices,” Bader said. “Being able to observe these trends in the Baltimore area is one of the advantages of conducting the survey annually.”
The 163-question survey of nearly 1,500 respondents in Baltimore city and county was developed in collaboration between Johns Hopkins researchers and community leaders. It aims to help residents, community groups, policymakers, and businesses better understand the experiences, perceptions, and attitudes of fellow residents over time.
“Profound economic and racial inequality shape how connected Baltimore-area residents can be,” the report states.
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More Baltimore City residents said their neighborhoods are getting better than worse, the opposite of the sentiment seen in Baltimore County.
“The declining distrust in local government and strong sense of satisfaction residents feel about their neighborhoods give local governments an opportunity to create programs that improve residents’ lives,” Bader says. “They may choose to focus on helping Baltimore-area’s poorest residents become more connected and to work with state government to improve mobility in the region.”
More information:
A Portrait of Baltimore 2024. 21cc.jhu.edu/research/a-portra … t-of-baltimore-2024/
Provided by
Johns Hopkins University
Citation:
Survey highlights Baltimore’s food insecurity decline, but racial disparities in grocery access endure (2025, January 24)
retrieved 26 January 2025
from https://phys.org/news/2025-01-survey-highlights-baltimore-food-insecurity.html
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