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Leon County
Board of County Commissioners Agenda Item#23 November 9, 2021 |
| To: | Honorable Chairman and Members of the Board |
| From: | Vincent S. Long, County Administrator |
| Title: | Food Insecurity at Neighborhood Block Group Level |
| Review and Approval: | Vincent S. Long, County Administrator |
|
Department/Division Review and Approval: |
Alan Rosenzweig, Deputy County Administrator |
|
Lead Staff/ Project Team: |
Shington Lamy, Director, Office of Human Services and Community Partnerships Abigail Sanders, Human Services Analyst |
Statement of Issue:
As requested at the January 25th Board Retreat, this item provides an analysis of Feeding Florida’s recent study to determine the number of Leon County residents missing meals, and recommends the County, in partnership with the City and Second Harvest of the Big Bend, conduct meetings in specific neighborhood blocks identified by Feeding America, to identify and address barriers that exacerbate food insecurity.
Fiscal Impact:
This item has no fiscal impact. However, the County partners with America’s Second Harvest of the Big Bend Inc. (Second Harvest) annually to address food insecurity in the amount of $290,000 through the Community Human Services Partnership (CHSP). Additionally, the County has partnered with Second Harvest in response to the impact of COVID-19 on the most vulnerable populations in the community which included more than $4 million in Leon CARES funding to distribute approximately 3 million meals, and $1.39 million in collaboration with the City of Tallahassee with American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding which will purchase an additional 722,000 meals and supports programs and initiatives that will expand access to neighborhoods with the highest need which are highlighted in this item.
Staff Recommendation:
Option #1: Direct staff to coordinate with America’s Second Harvest of the Big Bend to conduct community meetings in collaboration with the City of Tallahassee to determine barriers that exacerbate food insecurity in the neighborhood block groups.
Report and Discussion
Background:
As requested at the January 25th Board Retreat, this item provides an analysis of Feeding Florida’s, the state’s network of foodbanks, recent study to determine the number of Leon County residents missing meals, and recommends the County, in partnership with the City and Second Harvest of the Big Bend, conduct meetings in specific neighborhood blocks identified by Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hunger relief organization, to determine barriers that exacerbate food insecurity.
This item provides recommendations to build on the County’s efforts to address food insecurity, which advances the following FY2017-FY2021 Strategic Initiative:
This particular Strategic Initiative aligns with the Board’s Strategic Priority:
At its January 25, 2021 annual retreat, the Board approved a series of new strategic initiatives, including working with community partners to develop possible options for those struggling with food insecurity by utilizing the results of Feeding Florida’s recent study on food insecurity that provides granular data down to the neighborhood block group level. On February 16, 2021, the Board ratified the actions taken at the Board Retreat.
Food insecurity continues to be a significant issue in the community and has only been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent economic crisis. According to Feeding America, one in three children in Leon County struggle to find their next meal. Additionally, about 68,000 people in Leon County are food insecure, including 16,000 children. In partnership with Second Harvest, the County has taken significant actions to address food insecurity in the community including:
As discussed further in the Analysis, Second Harvest is the local food bank for the Big Bend region which is comprised of 11 counties. The organization is one of 12 food banks comprising part of the Feeding Florida statewide food bank network. In 2019, Feeding Florida commissioned a study to quantify true hunger at the neighborhood block group level, to identify specific areas within communities that may experience more food insecurity than others. This culminated with the release of the Meal Deficit Metric study authored by the Mari Gallagher Research and Consulting Group in late 2020. Since Spring 2021, Second Harvest, working with Feeding Florida and County staff, has evaluated the Meal Deficit Metric Report as requested by the Board, as well as Feeding America’s Map the Map Report, to identify neighborhood block groups with the highest food-related needs in Leon County.
Upon its evaluation, Second Harvest determined that the Meal Deficit Metric commissioned by Feeding Florida would not be appropriate for identifying the neighborhood blocks with the highest food insecurity in the community. The Meal Deficit Metric study did not take into consideration socioeconomic data such as median household income and identified neighborhoods that are not commonly considered to have high levels of poverty such as Southwood. Additionally, the author of the report required funding from the Second Harvest, Feeding Florida, or the County in order to conduct further analysis of its data. Instead, Second Harvest has stated that it intends to utilize the Map the Meal Gap data developed by Feeding America to identify and prioritize resources in neighborhoods with the highest levels of food insecurity. The Map the Meal Gap considers socioeconomic data such as median household income, as well as physical, mental, and neurological disabilities to accurately pinpoint food insecurity at the local level. It also captures the cost of food in a given community. The Map the Meal Gap data is available at no cost and is currently utilized by most food banks around the nation to position resources in communities and neighborhoods experiencing food insecurity. Second Harvest intends to utilize the data to maximize resources and enhance collaboration with community partners in the neighborhoods identified in the Map the Meal Gap Report.
The neighborhoods identified in the Map the Meal Gap report are outlined in detail in the Analysis. All of the neighborhoods identified with the highest food insecurity are entirely or partially within the City limits. As described in the analysis, the City receives annual federal and state funding such as the Community Development Block Grant and State Housing Initiative Partnership available that are currently being invested in the neighborhoods identified in the report. The City has also worked with several of the neighborhoods to develop and implement plans to address poverty and inequity which includes action items to address food insecurity.
Therefore, based on the results of the Map the Meal Gap data, this item recommends the County coordinate with Second Harvest and the City to conduct community meetings to determine barriers that exacerbate food insecurity in the neighborhood block groups. In Spring 2022, staff would provide a report to the Board on the barriers identified as well as any recommendations to enhance the County’s food insecurity investment or programs committed to addressing the underlying causes of food insecurity in the neighborhoods.
Analysis:
The following sections of the Analysis provide more information on the Meal Deficit Metric Findings (MDM) report commissioned by Feeding Florida, and the data provided by Feeding America, which is utilized by Second Harvest and other major food bank systems across the United States. The Analysis then provides details on the programs the County has adopted and implemented with community partners to address food insecurity. The Analysis culminates with the recommendation to coordinate with Second Harvest and the City to conduct community meetings over the next three to six months to determine barriers that exacerbate food insecurity in the neighborhood block groups.
Meal Deficit Metric Report
In 2019, Feeding Florida commissioned the Meal Deficit Metric (MDM) report to quantify true hunger at the neighborhood block group level (Attachment #1). The study utilized the MDM to determine “hunger totals”. Hunger totals are the number of meals that households miss due to a lack of funding after “netting out” all other resources used to acquire food, including all government food subsidies, all food bank support, and all help from friends and family. This means utilization of programs such as SNAP (i.e. food stamps) is not considered when determining a household’s hunger and missing meals.
According to the MDM report, there are three types of households that miss meals; 1) households who qualify for and receive government food subsidies; 2) households who qualify for but do not receive government food subsidies; and 3) households who do not qualify for government food subsidies. In the case of the first type of household, some will have zero missing meals because food subsidies meet their needs, but many others will still miss meals because the food subsidy is not enough to afford three meals a day. In the second type of household, most are missing meals and they might not be receiving subsidies, even though they would qualify because they are either too proud or do not know how to apply. The third group includes the working poor, middle-income, and high-income households who do not qualify for subsidies.
The MDM report analyzed data at the census tract level and the block group level. There are 68 census tracts and 177 block groups in Leon County. Additionally, the MDM report data sets used multiple regression analysis and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) survey for raw data; however, MDM did not consider socioeconomic conditions such as household income or unemployment rates. The MDM report utilized the data to determine the number of meals that households are likely to miss. As a result, Table #1 reflects the ten neighborhood block groups the MDM report found is missing the most meals weekly in Leon County. The MDM report only provided information regarding the weekly missing meals in column two of Table 1. The remainder of the data, including the food insecurity rate and median household income, was compiled to compare characteristics of the top ten block groups identified by the MDM report with the ten block groups identified as the most food insecure by Feeding America presented in Table 2.
Table 1: Top Ten Block Groups with the Most Missing Meals
|
Block Group |
Weekly Missing Meals |
Food Insecurity Rate |
Median Household Income (for a household of 4) |
Neighborhood Description |
|
18.01-2 |
5,394 |
38.1% |
$37,800 |
Wilson Green |
|
21.04-3 |
5,365 |
37.6% |
$14,827 |
Mission West Apartments/Mission Grove Apartments |
|
21.04-1 |
3,977 |
41.6% |
$27,990 |
Gretchen Everhart/Camden Apartments |
|
10.02-1 |
3,907 |
38.7% |
$50,473 |
Apalachee Ridge |
|
25.09-1 |
3,884 |
29.2% |
$44,745 |
Copper Creek/Westcott Apartment |
|
19.02-2 |
3,756 |
46.1% |
$27,606 |
Seminole Manor/FSU Sportsplex |
|
10.01-1 |
3,743 |
48.8% |
$31,468 |
South City |
|
26.03-1 |
3,734 |
25.6% |
$43,125 |
Crawfordville Road/Bardswood Lane |
|
26.05-1 |
3,678 |
12.4% |
$99,274 |
Southwood |
|
21.01-1 |
3,660 |
26.7% |
$39,382 |
Kentwood Estate/Holly Hills |
According to Second Harvest, a significant shortcoming of the MDM data is that it does not take into consideration critical socioeconomic data such as median household income to determine neighborhood block groups with the most missing meals. As a result, the report captures neighborhoods that are not commonly considered to have high levels of poverty such as Southwood, which has a median household income, for a household of four, of $99,274 compared to the median household income, for a household of four, in Leon County of $53,106 (Attachment #2). Additionally, to further evaluate the data provided in the MDM report, the author requires funding from Second Harvest, Feeding Florida, or the County. Therefore, Second Harvest, with the support of Feeding Florida determined that it would not utilize the MDM report for identifying the neighborhood blocks with the highest food insecurity in the community.
Map the Meal Gap Data – Feeding America
In order to identify the highest levels of food insecurity and prioritize resources through data at the neighborhoods block group level, Second Harvest intends to utilize the Map the Meal Gap Data developed by Feeding America. Each year, Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hunger relief organization, publishes the Map the Meal Gap report to identify the food insecurity rate at the county, census tract, and census block group levels. The Map the Meal Gap considers socioeconomic data such as median household income, as well as physical, mental, and neurological disabilities to accurately pinpoint food insecurity at the local level. It also captures the cost of food in a given community. The Map the Meal Gap data is available at no cost and is currently utilized by most food banks around the nation to position resources in communities and neighborhoods experiencing food insecurity.
Map the Meal Gap uses publicly available state and local data from the U.S. Census Bureau and Bureau of Labor Statistics on factors that research has shown to contribute to food insecurity, including unemployment and poverty as well as other socioeconomic and demographic characteristics. In addition to measuring how pervasive the need is, the study also estimates the cost of a meal and the additional amount of dollars needs among people who are food insecure.
The USDA defines food insecurity as a lack of consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life due to a lack of available financial resources for food at the household level. Food security means that people have access, at all times, to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household members. At a minimum, this includes readily available, nutritionally adequate, and safe foods and the assured ability to obtain personally acceptable foods in a socially acceptable way.
Based on the information and data collected and calculated, Table #2 reflects the ten block groups with the highest food insecurity rates in Leon County. The food insecurity rate for the neighborhoods in the Map the Meal Gap are significantly higher than the overall County food insecurity rate of 14%, and have median household incomes well below the County’s median household income, for a household of four, of $53,106. It is important to note that all of the neighborhood block groups are entirely or partially within in the City limits and receive significant City resources through annual federal and state funding such as the Community Development Block Grant and State Housing Initiative Partnership (Attachment #3).
Table 2: Top Ten Highest Food Insecurity Rate Block Groups
|
Block Group |
Food Insecurity Rate |
Median Household Income (for a Household of 4) |
Neighborhood Description |
|
4-2 |
66.1% |
$18,684 |
FAMU Area |
|
11.01-2 |
60.1% |
$23,739 |
Bond |
|
22.07-1 |
58.7% |
$40,156 |
N HWY 27 Outside I-10 |
|
14.02-3 |
54.1% |
$23,565 |
Outer Griffin Heights |
|
11.02-1 |
54.1% |
$44,026 |
Nims Middle |
|
6-3 |
50.6% |
$16,836 |
Frenchtown |
|
22.01-1 |
50.1% |
$31,696 |
Inside Capital Circle NW |
|
20.03-1 |
49.4% |
$30,184 |
TCC/Jail |
|
10.01-1 |
48.8% |
$29,032 |
South City |
|
19.01-2 |
47.8% |
$20,005 |
FAMU-FSU Engineering |
According to Second Harvest, Feeding America’s Map the Meal Gap data is consistent with the neighborhoods that Second Harvest continues to focus its resources, and there is an opportunity to enhance collaboration with the County and other partners to address needs in the targeted communities. Second Harvest in partnership with the County intends to utilize the Map the Meal Gap to collaborate with local organizations to address socioeconomic conditions of the neighborhoods. This will build on the significant investments that the County has committed to addressing food insecurity in the community, and reflects the areas that Second Harvest in collaboration with partners such as the County, wishes to provide critical resources to end food insecurity.
County Investment to End Food Insecurity
The County has consistently invested in efforts to end food insecurity in the community. Through the Community Human Service Partnership (CHSP), the County provides annual funding to Second Harvest in the amount of $290,000. Since 1997, the County and City have partnered to administer the CHSP as a joint planning and funding distribution process to provide human services in Tallahassee-Leon County. Currently, the County and City allocate a total of $4.046 million in ten human services categories, including but not limited to Children’s Services, Community Support, Family Support Services, Basic Needs and Emergency Services, and Promise Zone.
The funding includes $90,000 to Second Harvest in the Promise Zone Category, which served over 520,000 meals last year. The Promise Zone Category funds programs designed exclusively to serve residents in high poverty census tracts in the areas of youth services, family services, job training/placement, and health services. Seven of the ten neighborhood block groups identified in the Map the Meal Gap data with the highest food insecurity rates are in the Promise Zone.
Throughout the pandemic, Second Harvest has been a critical County partner in identifying the growing needs within the community. The Board has taken direct action to further support and build the capacity of Second Harvest to meet the needs created or exacerbated by the pandemic. At the July 14, 2020 budget workshop, the Board approved the Leon CARES Community Assistance program, dedicating over $4 million in funding to address food insecurity, which allowed Second Harvest to distribute approximately 3 million meals to address the food insecurity needs of the community’s most vulnerable populations, those of lower income working families and young families. In 2020, Second Harvest delivered about 15.2 million pounds of nutritious food, enough for about 12.6 million charitable meals given to people in need for no charge.
In May 2021, the Board approved an additional $1.39 million allocation of funding to Second Harvest through ARPA, which was shared proportionally by the County and the City according to each entity’s share of ARPA funds (the County’s contribution totals approximately $767,000). The additional funding to the Second Harvest provides for the purchase of approximately 722,000 meals. These meals will be distributed to Leon County families that continue to be impacted by COVID-19, including low-income children participating in virtual school and summer camps. Additionally, this funding supports Second Harvest in purchasing and operating four temperature-controlled grocery lockers that will be established in the community to increase assess to meals with flexible schedules for food pickup at nearby locations.
The results of Feeding America’s Map the Meal Gap provide an opportunity to engage the neighborhoods identified in order to better align the County’s investment in food insecurity to address the highest needs in the community.
Recommendation
To maximize County resources to focus on the neighborhood block groups with the highest food insecurity rate, County staff would work with Second Harvest and City of Tallahassee to hold meetings in neighborhoods identified in the Feeding America’s Map the Meal Gap to share the data and facilitate discussion on pinpointing barriers causing food insecurity. As previously mentioned, the data shows that all of the neighborhood block groups are entirely or partially within the City limits. Additionally, six of the block groups are at least partially located within the Bond, Frenchtown, Griffin Heights and Providence Neighborhoods.
Over the past 18-24 months, the City’s Neighborhood First Program has worked with residents and community stakeholders of the Bond, Frenchtown and Griffin Heights neighborhoods, to develop plans to improve the social and economic outlook of the neighborhoods. The plans were developed and adopted by the residents as well as the City. The City is currently engaging the Providence neighborhood to establish a Neighborhood First Plan. The Neighborhood First Plans reflect the priorities of the neighborhoods that were adopted after extensive engagement with residents. The City conducts monthly meetings with the neighborhoods of Bond, Frenchtown, and Griffin Heights respectively to implement the action items of the plans. The plans include strategies and action items to address food insecurity through increased farmers’ markets and expanded development of community gardens in the neighborhoods.
The County and Second Harvest would participate in upcoming implementation meetings to identify how current County resources to address food insecurity could be maximized. This could include the strategic placement of the four temperature-controlled grocery lockers in the neighborhoods with the highest food insecurity, and increase in food backpacks in schools zoned for the respective neighborhoods. The County would work with Second Harvest, the City, and representatives of the neighborhoods on developing action plans to enhance the investment in food insecurity.
Following engagement with the neighborhoods that are part of the City’s Neighborhood First Program, the County and Second Harvest would engage the remaining neighborhoods through community meetings in early 2022. According to the Map the Meal Gap, the Florida A&M University (FAMU) area has the highest food insecurity rate in Leon County. Second Harvest has stated that it will take the lead to meet with FAMU to discuss current resources available to students that live on or adjacent to the university’s campus, and opportunities to enhance services to address the food needs. Staff would provide a report to the Board on the barriers identified as well as any recommendations to enhance the County’s food insecurity investment or programs committed to addressing the underlying causes of food insecurity in the neighborhoods. Therefore, it is recommended that Board direct staff to coordinate with Second Harvest to conduct community meetings in collaboration with the City, to determine barriers that exacerbate food insecurity in the neighborhood block groups.
Conclusion
Food insecurity continues to be a significant issue in the community and has only been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent economic crisis. In partnership with Second Harvest, the County has taken significant actions to address food insecurity in the community including:
In 2019, Feeding Florida commissioned the MDM report to quantify true hunger at the neighborhood block group level to identify specific areas within communities that may experience more food insecurity than others. However, Second Harvest, with the support of Feeding Florida has determined that the MDM report is not appropriate to be utilized for identifying the neighborhoods with the highest food insecurity in the community. Instead, Second Harvest has stated that it intends to utilize the Map the Meal Gap data developed by Feeding America to identify and prioritize resources in neighborhoods with the highest levels of food insecurity.
To maximize County resources to focus on the neighborhood block groups with the highest food insecurity rate, County staff would work with Second Harvest and the City of Tallahassee to hold meetings in neighborhoods identified in the Feeding America’s Map the Meal Gap to share the data and facilitate discussion on pinpointing barriers causing food insecurity. The County and Second Harvest would participate in upcoming implementation meetings for the Neighborhood First Plans of Bond, Frenchtown, and Griffin Heights to identify how current County resources to address food insecurity could be maximized. Following engagement with the neighborhoods that are part of the City’s Neighborhood First Program, the County and Second Harvest would engage the remaining neighborhoods through community meetings in early 2022. In Spring 2022, staff would provide a report to the Board on the barriers identified as well as any recommendations to enhance the County’s food insecurity investment or programs committed to addressing the underlying causes of food insecurity in the neighborhoods.
Options:
Recommendation:
Option #1
Attachments: