Finding food in Florida: Needs vary by region

Food needs in Florida are high since COVID-19, but vary by region with rates of food pantry requests highest in the panhandle, SNAP requests highest around Orlando, and home-delivered meal requests highest on the southeastern coast. We analyzed 34,371 food requests received by Florida 2-1-1s since the pandemic began and mapped the rate of requests per 100,000 population by county. Analyses focused on the top three requests for food assistance: food pantries (left chart), help buying food (middle chart) and home-delivered meals (right chart). Among 25,953 food pantry requests statewide, Gadsden, Jefferson, Leon and Wakulla counties in the panhandle each received 339 to 616 requests per 100,000 population. Requests for help buying food – which includes the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, or Food Stamps) and Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program and numbered 3,898 – were highest in Orange, Osceola and Okeechobee counties (55-70 requests per 100,000), while 2,573 requests for home-delivered meals were highest in Miami-Dade and Palm Beach Counties (39 and 40 requests per 100,000, respectively). Mouse over each county on each map to show specific rates. Food request data came from a daily tracking system of 2-1-1 requests, for the period of March 12 to July 7, 2020. Population data came from the U.S. Census. On all maps, darker shaded counties had higher rates of 2-1-1 requests per 100,000 population. Counties shaded in gray reported no requests.

Contributors: Rachel Garg, Balaji Golla, Irum Javed, Matthew Kreuter, Jennifer Staten, Jennifer Wolff