In 2023, hunger still persists in every single municipality of Bergen County. The interactive map below illustrates the ongoing levels of food insecurity by compiling SNAP enrollment, unemployment, and free & reduced lunch participants.

All 70 municipalities in Bergen County are dealing with new realities brought on by the pandemic. Unfortunately, one of the most immediate and visible realities is food insecurity and the need to feed their residents. Many households cannot afford groceries for the first time in their lives and SNAP applications continue to rise after they nearly doubled during the initial onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In August 2020, Feeding America released a report to estimating a 71% increase in food insecurity in Bergen County, totaling 103,000 individuals. That means 1 in every 9 people in Bergen County do not have sufficient access to enough nutritious food; 30% of which are children.