{"id":13454,"date":"2024-09-03T08:00:08","date_gmt":"2024-09-03T08:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/state.nokidhungry.org\/texas\/?p=13430"},"modified":"2024-09-03T08:00:08","modified_gmt":"2024-09-03T08:00:08","slug":"new-poll-reveals-texans-struggling-to-afford-groceries-forcing-difficult-tradeoffs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/state.nokidhungry.org\/texas\/2024\/09\/03\/new-poll-reveals-texans-struggling-to-afford-groceries-forcing-difficult-tradeoffs\/","title":{"rendered":"New Poll Reveals Texans Struggling to Afford Groceries, Forcing Difficult Tradeoffs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Families sacrifice nutritious meals and must decide between food and bills in order to feed their kids<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

[September 3, 2024, SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS]\uff0d<\/b>A new poll from<\/span> No Kid Hungry Texas finds it has become harder to afford groceries, leading to widespread food insecurity across the state. The study shows rural Texans and parents of school-aged children are being hit hardest by the crisis.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

More than three-quarters of Texans (77%) reported that it has become harder to afford groceries over the last twelve months. This finding marks a worsening trend captured in the previous year\u2019s <\/span>study<\/span><\/a>, which found that 73% of Texans had a harder time affording groceries than the year before.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This had a real impact on families, with nearly half of Texans (44%) reporting at least one sign of food insecurity, marked by either not having enough to eat, eating low-quality food, and\/or eating a limited variety of food due to cost. Families have been forced to make difficult tradeoffs, with more than half (52%) having to decide between purchasing food and paying for another essential, such as rent, utilities, gas, a home or car repair, or medical bills.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are disheartened to see that for many Texans, the food affordability crisis is getting worse,\u201d said Stacie Sanchez Hare, director of No Kid Hungry Texas. \u201cOur poll shows it\u2019s becoming harder to afford groceries – particularly for parents and rural Texans – and as a result, far too many families are being forced to buy less healthy alternatives and making impossible decisions like whether to buy enough food or keep the lights on.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

When asked how an unlimited grocery budget would impact their lives, respondents overwhelmingly shared about eating more nutritious foods, experiencing less worry, and allocating funds towards other bills and essentials. <\/span>\u201cI could actually make my kids healthier meals for once instead of instant noodles and nuggets. My kids will be excited to eat.\u201d <\/i><\/b>shared a mom from Brazos County. Another respondent from Dallas County noted the difficult tradeoffs that would be avoided if grocery costs were no longer an issue: <\/span>\u201c[We] would eat healthier, pay more bills on time, and not have to look at the possible repo of the family vehicle.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we\u2019re hearing is that additional grocery dollars would be a game-changer for families in their ability to provide a healthy, balanced diet for their kids,\u201d said Sanchez Hare. \u201cNutrition is often the first thing to go when money is tight, and families should not have to make impossible choices between a healthy meal or paying the utility bill. This is why we\u2019re urging our elected officials to implement proven policy solutions like Summer EBT that will help bridge this nutrition gap by offering additional grocery-buying benefits directly to families.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The topline findings of the report are as follows:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n