Public Radio for the Piedmont and High Country
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Report: Greensboro and Winston-Salem Face Some Of The Highest Food Insecurity Rates In U.S.

A new report shows the Triad still has a long way to go to address food insecurity. Greensboro and Winston-Salem are both among the cities with the highest need.

According to the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC) report, the United States has made considerable progress in reducing food hardship since the height of the recession.

But the need is still high in the Triad.

Last year, Greensboro was rated the worst metropolitan area in the nation for food insecurity. It inched upward slightly in the latest report, to number nine.

Russ Clegg, with the city's planning division, credits stronger local partnerships for the improvement, but says it's still a tough problem.

“We don't have a lot of hard data to really say what people's exact problems are and how they are being met or not met,” says Clegg. “We hope if we get a USDA grant in the near future to partner with UNCG because every neighborhood is different, so we really want to understand what their needs are.”  

Winston-Salem also made the list for top metro areas with the highest food hardship rates in 2015.

The report says food assistance programs like SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) are helping some families to make ends meet, but they only go so far.

The study points out that although the unemployment rate has decreased, many families are still struggling with lower wages, part-time employment and other financial obstacles.

 

*Follow WFDD's Keri Brown on Twitter @kerib_news

 

Keri Brown is a multi-award winning reporter and host at 88.5 WFDD. She has been honored with two regional Edward R. Murrow awards for her stories about coal ash, and was named the 2015 radio reporter of the year by the Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas (RTDNAC).Although she covers a variety of topics, her beats are environmental and education reporting.Keri comes to the Triad from West Virginia Public Broadcasting, where she served as the Chief Bureau Reporter for the Northern Panhandle. She produced stories for the state's Public Television and Radio programs and was honored by the West Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters Association for her feature and enterprise reporting.She also served as an adjunct instructor at Wheeling Jesuit University and Bethany College in West Virginia. She worked with the Center for Educational Technologies in Wheeling, WV, and other NASA centers across the country to develop several stories about the use of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts in the classroom.Keri's journalism career began at WTRF-TV 7 in Wheeling. She worked in several roles at the station, including the head assignment editor. She also was a field producer and assignment manager at WPGH-TV Fox 53 in Pittsburgh.Keri is a graduate of Ohio University. When she's not in the studio or working on a story, she enjoys watching college football with her family, cooking, and traveling.Keri is always looking for another great story idea, so please share them with her. You can follow her on Twitter @kerib_news.

Support quality journalism, like the story above,
with your gift right now.

Donate