Thread by @CenterOnBudget

Thread: today, new data from the Census Pulse show that millions of Americans are still struggling to afford food and rent. This economic crisis is far from over for many, and policymakers need to do more to make sure families can put food on the table. /1 #COVIDRelief

Census data from September 2-14 show that about 10% of all adults reported their household sometimes or often didn’t have enough to eat in the last 7 days, more than twice the share of adults who reported this at any point in 2019 (3.7%). /2

Because of longstanding inequities exacerbated by the pandemic, the shares of Black and Latino adults reporting their households aren’t getting enough to eat are more than DOUBLE the share of white adults reporting this. /3

And the share of adults (9-14%) reporting that KIDS aren’t getting enough to eat is still astoundingly high. This translates into millions of kids & is more than 8 TIMES the share of adults reporting kids didn’t get enough to eat at some point in the last month in 2019 (~1%). /4

The government funding bill passed by the House yesterday includes important provisions to extend & expand school meal replacement benefits (P-EBT) and extend flexibilities in SNAP, WIC and school meals. These are an important step, but Congress needs to do more. /5

Given widespread hardship, families need relief that will help them pay the rent and meet other basic needs. Every day without comprehensive relief is another day policymakers are failing to help Americans make ends meet. /6

We’ll be posting some new analysis and state data shortly; check back in here for more. /7