A study projects a sharp increase in the number of people going hungry in western Massachusetts this year as a result of the economic hardships brought about by the pandemic.
In its latest projections, Feeding America, the non-profit network of food banks, estimates that 11 percent of the people who live in the four western Massachusetts counties -- roughly 100,000 people --will struggle with food insecurity this year.
The report said the number of children in western Massachusetts who are food insecure will increase by 30 percent from pre-pandemic levels to roughly 15 percent of the region’s child population.
WAMC’s Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill spoke with Andrew Morehouse, Executive Director of the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts.
