U.S. Census Bureau: Hispanic Adults Who Responded to Spanish-Language Household Pulse Survey Reported Higher Food Insufficiency
I would like to review the Spanish-Language Household Pulse Survey Reported Higher Food Insufficiency with everyone.
https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2021/07/spanish-language-survey-respondents-report-greater-pandemic-hardships.html
As we have covered extensively on r/Superstonk, the economic ramifications of the pandemic have been far-reaching. However, the impact has not been felt evenly across U.S. populations โ not even within racial and ethnic groups. We may all be in the same storm, but some of us definitely have mega yachts compared to dingies and it would appear for our Latino and Latina friends it is disproportionately hitting them.
As we saw the other day when reviewing 'rising wages' the pandemic has disproportionately affected certain industries and groups. Among Hispanics (of any race) it appears they have suffered disproportionately with record unemployment, mental health challenges and the accumulation of debt.
For example, early in the pandemic, 8.8 million adults were estimated to have become food insufficient due to pandemic-related changes.
Food insufficiency is defined as sometimes or often not having enough to eat. Hispanic households reported higher food insufficiency than White non-Hispanic households in March; this was particularly true among Hispanic Spanish-language respondents.
These findings are based on an analysis of recent data from the U.S. Census Bureauโs experimental Household Pulse Survey (HPS).
Spanish is the second-most prevalent language spoken in the United States after English. As with many Census Bureau surveys, the Household Pulse offers respondents the option of answering the questionnaire in English or in Spanish.
A minority (21.4%) of Hispanic respondents chose to take the survey in Spanish. Those who did reported two times the level of food insufficiency reported by Hispanic respondents who took the survey in English in late March.
Hispanic Spanish-language respondents also reported higher food insufficiency in every cycle of HPS since the start of 2021, nearly a year into the pandemic.
Some of the differences between Spanish- and English-language respondents may be due to greater income insecurity.
Hispanic Spanish-language respondents were 50% more likely to report that they or someone in their household had lost employment income since the pandemic hit than Hispanics who took the survey in English.
Despite higher food insufficiency and loss of employment income, Spanish-language respondents were not more likely to receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. This may be due to language barriers, a lack of information about social welfare programs or eligibility concerns.
Instead of government assistance, Hispanic respondents who took the survey in Spanish were more likely to rely on private sources of food aid (like churches, food banks, friends and family) than those who took the survey in English.
Spanish-language respondents were also significantly more likely than other Hispanic respondents to rely on school meals to feed their children.
Whether this disparity is due to economic circumstances, language barriers, or other challenges in life not surveyed, the results are clear: Food insufficiency in Hispanic households has been significantly higher among Spanish-language respondents. While free school meals and food banks may help some families close the gap, itโs clear we as a society need to do more for our Latino and Latina brother and sisters facing food insecurity.
To that end, these numbers and reports I have been posting are really depressing.
These are the don't dance stats.
