South Dakota is a state that prides itself on feeding its residents, yet many go without meals on a daily basis.

A new study shows that 103,180 people in South Dakota do not know where their next meal will come from. In addition, of those 103,180 people, 36,110 are children.

The Feeding America study also shows that 12.5 percent of the state population will struggle with hunger.

Locally, there are varying levels of people who are “food insecure.” Food insecurity is defined by the USDA as “consistent access to adequate food is limited by a lack of money or other resources at times throughout the year.”

In Yankton County, 10.9 percent of the population is considered food insecure, or 2,450 total people. Of that total, 40 percent fall below the Supplemental Food Assistance Program (SNAP) threshold of 130 percent of the poverty level.

In Bon Homme County, 10.8 percent of the population is deemed food insecure. This percentage is 13.9 percent in Charles Mix County and 15.1 percent in Clay County.

Nearly 14 percent of the Nebraska population deals is food insecure, including 11.3 percent for Knox County and 9.2 percent in Cedar County.

“This is the third study Feeding America has done, going back to the time when the measurement for the need of food assistance was based on just a few factors,” said Matt Gassen, executive director of Feeding South Dakota. “The new approach and formula was created using those few factors and adding in others to have a better determination of the amount of people across the country who are food  insecure.”

He added that the term “food insecure” is new, as people are used to using the term “hunger”.

“This is really about the entitlement for every American to have three meals each day,” Gassen said. “If someone is food insecure, it means they don’t know if they can have food for a given meal.”

This study allows officials from across the country to look at food insecurity rates in each county.

“This really helps us identify the areas in South Dakota that have a greater need and we can focus more on those areas,” he said.

South Dakota has experienced a slight increase in the number of people who are food insecure from the last study.

“There are about 1,000 more people in this study who are said to be food insecure,” Gassen said. “However, there has also been an increase in the population of South Dakota. So you could summarize that it’s a natural increase that comes with a greater population base.”

Officials at Feeding South Dakota said the study confirms, to an extent, what they already knew.

“We know that there are a lot of people in the state struggling to make ends meet and put food on the table,” Gassen said. “The study enables us to … see how many meals are being missed and look at data by areas in the state.”

He added that even though there is a large number of people in the state who need food assistance, officials at Feeding South Dakota will not be overwhelmed by the number.

“These statistics are what keep us up at night,” Gassen said. “We want to be able to figure out better and more efficient ways to get food to different areas across the state.”

He said the figure he found most interesting in the study was that the group between 130 and 185 percent of the poverty level makes up about 14 percent of those that are food insecure in South Dakota. However, the number of people who are food insecure jumps up to around 50 percent of those people who are at least 185 percent of the poverty level.

“As a whole, the numbers are significant,” Gassen said. “The percentage breakout tells us different stories and shows that some families are struggling with their incomes, working poor families and people who are struggling with non-liveable wages.”

He noted the fastest growing group of food insecure people in the state could be the working poor and seniors.

“There are a lot of rising costs right now, including food costs, fuel costs, utilities and medications,” Gassen said. “Although these groups might make enough money to survive, in reality they don’t.”

Feeding South Dakota aims to help citizens in a number of different ways, including by running food pantries and food banks.

“We base the food pantry on other organizations’ needs, so the community gets to decide who needs the food assistance. We just provide it,” Gassen said. “The food bank provides and distributes foods to non-profits across the state. However, all of the programs we run have one thing in common — providing food assistance to individuals and families across the state.”

Feeding South Dakota also runs a mobile food pantry program that distributes food straight off the truck to around a dozen communities each year.

“We understand when people are struggling to make ends meet and put food on the table, it could be the result of a number of different factors,” Gassen said. “The solution to that — in simple form — comes from higher paying jobs and education. Some communities also need better access to low-cost meals, and some rural communities don’t even have access to grocery stores, or grocery stores where food is more affordable.”

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