{"id":206932,"date":"2025-10-12T07:06:06","date_gmt":"2025-10-12T07:06:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/206932\/"},"modified":"2025-10-12T07:06:06","modified_gmt":"2025-10-12T07:06:06","slug":"tourist-towns-see-rising-hunger-in-the-off-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/206932\/","title":{"rendered":"Tourist towns see rising hunger in the off-season"},"content":{"rendered":"

By late September, the striped umbrellas are folded, the taffy shops<\/a> go dark and the only thing moving along the boardwalk is the autumn wind. That\u2019s when the lines start forming \u2014 not at the seafood stands<\/a>, but at the food banks.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The coastal summer vacation<\/a> has long been a staple of middle-class Americana, but what happens when the tourists go home? What happens when the middle class isn\u2019t so middle anymore, and the people who make those postcard-perfect towns run are left counting the dollars in their wallets \u2014 or the cans in their cupboards<\/a>?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Across the country, the communities that thrive in July are tightening their belts by November. From the South Carolina Lowcountry to the Jersey Shore to the islands of Massachusetts, food banks<\/a> are seeing year-round workers \u2014 teachers, servers, landscapers, fishermen \u2014 lining up for help in numbers not seen since the pandemic. The difference now, many say, is that the problem isn\u2019t temporary anymore.\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

And with the passage of the \u201cBig Beautiful Bill,\u201d it\u2019s about to get worse<\/a>.<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

The so-called \u201cBig Beautiful Bill<\/a>\u201d \u2014 formally known as HR-1, the federal reconciliation package passed earlier this year \u2014 was pitched by lawmakers as a way to \u201crestore fiscal sanity\u201d and \u201creward work.\u201d But beneath that language, the bill slashed hundreds of millions in funding <\/a>for the country\u2019s food assistance programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the USDA\u2019s Emergency Food Assistance Program. For the nation\u2019s 200-plus food banks, it\u2019s been described as a perfect storm: federal cuts colliding with a government shutdown, inflation and a cost-of-living crisis that hasn\u2019t let up.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t something we can just backfill,\u201d said Cindy Huddleston, a senior policy analyst with the Florida Policy Institute<\/a>. \u201cWhere are they going to get this, potentially more than $1 billion a year to be able to support [SNAP]? Unless the state steps in \u2014 and we\u2019ve seen no plan for that \u2014 food banks are going to be left picking up the pieces.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

And Huddleston isn\u2019t confident that food banks and other community groups could even afford to pick up that slack.\u00a0<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

Florida\u2019s challenges, she added, are especially sharp in coastal counties, where the cost of a meal is already 47% more than what SNAP allows. \u201cPeople were already stretching their benefits to the end of the month. Now, they simply won\u2019t make it,\u201d says Huddleston.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

SNAP is an optional program, and there is some worry across Florida that the state could potentially back out completely<\/a>. Florida was one of 15 states that chose not to participate in SunBucks, a new federal summer meals program designed to help low-income families feed their children when school is out. \u201cThat was $120 per child that could have gone directly to families,\u201d Huddleston said. \u201cInstead, the state turned it down.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

Want more great food writing and recipes? Sign up for Salon\u2019s free food newsletter<\/a>, The Bite.<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

There are nearly one million children in Florida receiving SNAP benefits. Officials argued that existing programs already filled the gap, but Huddleston said that\u2019s misleading. \u201cMost of those programs require transportation, and a lot of families can\u2019t get to a feeding site every day. It\u2019s really only able to serve a small percentage,\u201d she said. \u201c[SunBucks] would have brought hundreds of millions [of dollars] to the state to feed millions of children.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Regardless, Huddleston says Florida backing out of SNAP is a worst case scenario and she\u2019s \u201ccautiously optimistic\u201d that lawmakers will realize the importance of these programs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cThe value of the program and the long term effects, you really can\u2019t understate those things,\u201d she says, \u201cWe\u2019re worried because we haven\u2019t seen any planning, and the planning has to begin now. It needed to begin yesterday.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nWhen the season ends, so do paychecks\u00a0 <\/p>\n

For Nick Osborne, CEO of the Lowcountry Food Bank<\/a> in South Carolina, the challenge isn\u2019t just size \u2014 it\u2019s diversity. His network spans 10 coastal counties, serving both rural and urban communities across the Lowcountry.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Osborne says the landscape of Lowcountry has changed a lot in the past five years with many, often wealthy, people from the North moving down South for lower cost of living.\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cIn many senses, that\u2019s brought wealth into the area but it\u2019s also created some displacement,\u201d says Osborne, \u201cHouse prices, cost of living have gone up especially along the coast in more sort-of touristy places, so that\u2019s created a dynamic as well and put pressure on people living there.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

One of the biggest issues facing the Lowcountry Food Bank is the vast differences between their service areas.\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring the height of the tourism season, there are a lot of people that are dependent on the hospitality industry, but then in the off season that then creates a challenge because obviously those jobs are no longer there so you see a fluctuation trend in terms of food insecurity,\u201d says Osborne, \u201cIf you go to the southern part of our service area, which is more rural, that\u2019s more sort of generational poverty but they\u2019ve also got seasonality with the farming system.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen SNAP is cut, we see an immediate increase in demand. Us at the Food Bank, we have to fill that gap, in a context where costs are already going up and the resource access we have is getting lower\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

He says the Gullah Farm Community<\/a> has a deep-rooted history of farming on the Southern Coast, and they\u2019re being heavily impacted not just by farming cycles, but also by developers trying to build on their lands. When harvests slow, so do paychecks \u2014 leaving agricultural workers just as vulnerable as those who depend on tourism.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

In Horry County, which includes Myrtle Beach, he said the food bank sees a clear pattern: when the tourist season ends, need spikes. \u201cDuring the summer, food insecurity is around 11%,\u201d Osborne said. \u201cIn the off-season, that can climb closer to 20%.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The Lowcountry Food Bank\u2019s response has been to meet communities where they are, literally: mobile distribution sites, refrigerated trucks, and partnerships with local farms help get food into areas where traditional pantries are out of reach. But Osborne said those efforts can\u2019t fully make up for the loss of federal aid. \u201cWhen SNAP is cut, we see an immediate increase in demand,\u201d he said. \u201cUs at the Food Bank, we have to fill that gap, in a context where costs are already going up and the resource access we have is getting lower.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nNew Jersey\u2019s shoreline: Living at the edge of wealth\u00a0 <\/p>\n

At the Community Food Bank of New Jersey<\/a> (CFBNJ), CEO Elizabeth McCarthy said that as soon as the summer crowds leave, the phones start ringing. \u201cWe see an uptick at all of our pantries,\u201d she says, \u201cAnywhere from 10 to 20% increase very quickly after the season ends.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

New Jersey is home to some of the wealthiest zip codes in the country<\/a> \u2014 and some of the hungriest. <\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Over 1 million people<\/a> in New Jersey report being food insecure, and many of them live in food deserts,<\/a> an area with limited access to affordable, nutritious food. There are 50 food desert communities<\/a> across New Jersey, including densely populated cities like Trenton and Atlantic City. McCarthy says Atlantic City doesn\u2019t even have a \u201cfull grocery store,\u201d most residents rely on bodegas or smaller markets for grocery shopping. Earlier this year, a $30 million grant program <\/a>was approved by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority to combat food insecurity, but will it be enough to combat an exponentially increasing issue or will it just be another Band-Aid on these evolving problems?\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The food bank puts a lot of resources into mobile pantries or farm-to-pantry initiatives that get fresh produce into these food desert communities. With the proposed HR-1 cuts not only are these programs at risk, but the small businesses where SNAP users currently shop will be impacted as well. SNAP users are crucial for the small-business economy.<\/a> For every dollar spent with SNAP benefits, the USDA says<\/a> the U.S. gross domestic product increases by $1.54. That increase could support nearly 14,000 additional jobs annually.\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we\u2019re going to see, especially smaller grocery stores, or grocery stores that are in areas with a concentrated level of poverty, we will see places closing down,\u201d says McCarthy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Food insecurity in New Jersey has increased 65% <\/a>since the height of the Covid pandemic. Of the over a million people who are food insecure, 45% are above the SNAP threshold <\/a>and may not qualify for benefits.\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re consistently facing, kind of the lack of predictability of their work and therefore their income, so for a lot of people, that also affects where they can live.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

McCarthy says it\u2019s a very \u201ctransient population\u201d in the beach towns, especially the south shore. A lot of people live in motels throughout the year, but when rates go up in the summer, they can\u2019t afford it anymore. Many are forced to move to the streets until the rates go down again.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Ali Stefanik, Assistant Director of neighbor experience at CFBNJ, oversees all the direct services out of Egg Harbor Township, which covers Atlantic County, Cape May County, and Cumberland County.\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

She said the shift has been striking. \u201cWe\u2019re starting to see families or populations who\u2019ve never needed help before,\u201d she said. \u201cPeople who own seasonal restaurants or work on farms \u2014 they had a decent summer, but not enough to carry them through the winter.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have seen skyrocketing numbers of ALICE households across all three of our counties, and this is true of most coastal communities I\u2019ve talked to,\u201d says Stefanik, \u201cPoverty, by federal definitions, might be declining but ALICE households are growing and it\u2019s in two directions.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

ALICE stands for \u201cAsset-Limited, Income-Constrained, Employed.\u201d These are families who work full-time but still can\u2019t afford basic expenses like food and housing.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Stefanik says individuals and families are climbing just slightly out of the federal poverty level into ALICE status, and large numbers are falling from \u201cnot wealthy, but comfortable\u201d into the ALICE threshold.\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re starting to see families or populations who\u2019ve never needed help before. People who own seasonal restaurants or work on farms \u2014 they had a decent summer, but not enough to carry them through the winter.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Less and less people can afford to go out, which is making the New Jersey summers end sooner, heavily affecting the seasonal economy. \u201cThey\u2019re paying all their employees, they paid their bills, but are they going to have enough money to feed their families until they can open again? This is what we\u2019re starting to see more and more,\u201d she says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Like coastal South Carolina, New Jersey has an extremely varied population \u2014 from dense urban centers to vast rural farmlands \u2014 in a very small land area. The seasonal workers are some of the most at-risk with the HR-1 bill because new work requirements<\/a> may make them ineligible for benefits in the off-season.\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cOther states have this too, but for us, it\u2019s such a concentrated area. We have incredibly rural areas. We have lots of suburban areas. We have very densely populated urban areas,\u201d says McCarthy, \u201cWe need lots of different responses to the problem, there is no one size fits all for what we have.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

At the same time, the cost of running food banks has skyrocketed. McCarthy says their federal food allotment is down 35%. \u201cWe\u2019re really looking internally to see if there is anything we can do to become more efficient, to make sure that we\u2019re operating as close to the margin as we can and just put our funds toward purchasing food.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

McCarthy says they\u2019ve told partners that they won\u2019t cut any food distribution for now, but as demand starts increasing, there\u2019s an increased pressure and need to purchase more food to meet that demand. The food bank might not be able to raise the funds to cover that gap.\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Stefanik says that the food bank spends about $90 million annually across the state. If the HR-1 cuts proceed, their budget would have to double to $180 million.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no way we can do that,\u201d she says, \u201cWe\u2019re really well supported, our supporters are incredibly generous, but there\u2019s no way we can come up with another 90 million dollars.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, that means either less food for the people they\u2019re serving or less reach for some harder to access communities. CFBNJ puts a lot of work into reaching as many people as possible through programs like mobile pantries, refrigerated lockers, and even home delivery. These programs may have to stop or be dramatically reduced soon.\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cRealistically, we\u2019re never going to recover if these SNAP changes stay the same as they are in the bill right now,\u201d says Stefanik, \u201cWe\u2019re just gonna get worse and worse and it\u2019s gonna be harder for us to bounce back.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n


\n\u201cLunch for two at a deli costs $75\u201d\u00a0 <\/p>\n

On Nantucket, where the median home price hovers around $2.3 million, even teachers, nurses and Coast Guard members struggle to afford groceries. Nearly half of the island\u2019s public school students qualify for free or reduced lunch, and the local food pantry reports record demand every fall.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

A recent Boston Magazine<\/a> story described the contradiction well: \u201cIt\u2019s a place where lunch for two at a deli costs $75, yet residents working two or three jobs still can\u2019t make ends meet.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

That same paradox plays out in coastal communities nationwide. Tourists see abundance \u2014 the beach houses, the boutiques, the seafood shacks \u2014 but the year-round population lives in an entirely different economy.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cNew Jersey is thought of as a wealthy state, people don\u2019t always expect that there\u2019s food insecurity,\u201d says McCarthy, \u201cI think people don\u2019t understand just how many people live close to the edge and can\u2019t withstand an emergency.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n


\nPriced out of paradise\u00a0 <\/p>\n

On the opposite ocean, there\u2019s another island struggling with an affordability crisis. In Maui, the housing market is so inflated that even lifelong locals are being pushed off the island. \u201cYou\u2019ve got billion-dollar homes right next to older, local homes,\u201d said Brandi Saragosa, chief operating officer of the Maui Food Bank. \u201cWe call it \u2018being priced out of paradise.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

For Saragosa, the phrase isn\u2019t a slogan \u2014 it\u2019s lived experience. She and her three sisters once shared a six-bedroom house with their families, a multigenerational solution to Maui\u2019s steep housing costs. \u201cIt\u2019s just getting too expensive,\u201d she said. \u201cMinimum wage is now $12, but to buy a two-bedroom home is $900,000.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

When Covid hit, and again after the 2023 Maui wildfires, everything changed. \u201cEveryone was unemployed because tourism is the main money generator for our islands,\u201d she said, \u201cYou saw food banks having to feed the need, which felt impossible. We saw lines as long as 700 cars per distribution in each district.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

That sudden spike forced many residents to confront just how fragile the island\u2019s food system had become. \u201cIt was alarming, but I think our community needed to see that and realize that we need to start looking inward.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Saragosa says that Hawaii\u2019s food is 80 to 85% imported goods. This is a stat she personally has worked tirelessly to change. \u201cWe\u2019re refocusing our energy to help sustain local farmers.\u201d Saragosa said. They\u2019ve created budgets and programs specifically to get local food into the food banks. Last fiscal year, they were able to send $1.1 million back to local growers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

If Hawaii is less reliant on imports, that helps fuel the local economy, encourage local farming and growing, and protects the community when natural disasters could potentially destroy critical ports.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t see anything changing legislatively.This is a problem that\u2019s not going to go away, but get worse.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

That strategy \u2014 keeping food and money local \u2014 has become central to the food bank\u2019s philosophy. \u201cWe try to keep our money on island,\u201d she said. \u201cI truly believe it\u2019s the high cost of living and the locals are being priced out of a place they\u2019ve lived for generations.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

When the fires struck, food banks across the state had to join forces. \u201cTo take care of that scale, it was way too big for us,\u201d she said. \u201cYou saw people using personal boats coming across the water to bring fuel and supplies. And that was all uncoordinated, it was just a rise of people helping the community.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

She says that the unwavering community support and rise in awareness is part of what makes Hawaii so special, however, families still aren\u2019t recovered. Many are still living in temporary housing sites. The food bank has developed mobile pantry programs to serve those groups, but this isn\u2019t a viable long term solution. \u201cWe\u2019re challenged with how we\u2019re going to keep up this pace for a long time, because we don\u2019t see anything changing legislatively,\u201d she said, \u201cThis is a problem that\u2019s not going to go away, but get worse.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n


\nEven a big Band-Aid can\u2019t stop the bleeding\u00a0 <\/p>\n

Saragosa\u2019s concern echoes what many food bank leaders across the country are saying: the crisis isn\u2019t just about hunger, but policy. \u201cAny cuts are not good.\u201d She says a large percentage of Maui Food Bank\u2019s distribution is from The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP). \u201cMy first thought is how do we make up for that?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

In response, the food bank has begun inviting local and state officials to see the problem firsthand. \u201cThe best way you can show anyone anything is to let them experience it,\u201d she said. \u201cInvite them to see our distributors, meet those families. If someone\u2019s willing to take the time to do that, they will feel something, because that\u2019s what we feel every day for these families.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Maui\u2019s government has shown interest \u2014 creating a Farm to Food Bank Fund \u2014 but Saragosa said the program\u2019s reach falls far short. \u201cThe amount at the end of the day,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s only enough for us to source for maybe two days.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why she and her team have begun engaging in policy discussions through groups like the Hawaii Food Alliance. \u201cWe\u2019re at these tables and discussions because we need to start making a change at that level \u2014 at least our state government level, and even our federal level \u2014 but at this point it doesn\u2019t look very promising.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

Want more great food writing and recipes? Sign up for Salon\u2019s free food newsletter<\/a>, The Bite.<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

Saragosa said it feels daunting but necessary. \u201cIt feels like such a huge job, it\u2019s overwhelming, but we\u2019ve got to start with policy. We want to implement policies that truly help now and the next generation.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The bank has recently launched educational programs to teach residents about business, local food systems, career paths, and how to become farmers themselves.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re thinking of ourselves as this really big Band-Aid,\u201d she said, \u201cbut we need to do more to stop the bleeding.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nA national reckoning for food banks\u00a0 <\/p>\n

Across the country, people are worried about what HR-1 cuts will do to their state\u2019s already vulnerable communities.\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

In Florida, Huddleston says she\u2019s most worried for the immigrant community, many of whom are employed in agricultural hotspots like Miami Dade and Palm Beach. The expanded SNAP work requirements <\/a>put all farmers who experience periods of unemployment between growing seasons at.\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cWe rely on them, especially these local communities and their local economies, to get this job done. So we need to make sure that they don\u2019t lose their food assistance,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture released a memo saying that states had until November 1 to start enacting the new SNAP work requirements. In a statement<\/a> on October 4, The Food Resource and Action Center called this mandate \u201cunreasonable,\u201d saying, \u201cAll of this will lead to unnecessary chaos and confusion in the midst of widespread uncertainty, record inflation, and a government shutdown.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

On top of losing their food assistance, Huddleston says that many legal immigrants<\/a> are worried about losing their immigration status as well, especially after the chaos <\/a>following changes to H1-B visas earlier this month.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

In New Jersey, McCarthy worries about balancing the state\u2019s wealthy reputation with the reality of the situation. They need to continue meeting all vulnerable groups in the ways that are best for them and do their best to decrease hunger and food insecurity while simultaneously dealing with tighter budgets, rising costs, and fewer resources.\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s definitely harder to figure out the best responses [in a transient community],\u201d says McCarthy, \u201cEspecially, if someone has diabetes or high blood pressure, that moving around and living in different places definitely has an impact on health.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

CFBNJ recently conducted a study tracking patients with diabetes and found that once they learned about food and how to eat for their disease, their missed work days dramatically decreased.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201c[If the cuts proceed as planned], people won\u2019t be as healthy,\u201d McCarthy said. \u201cThis program has been evaluated. It\u2019s proven to work, and when people aren\u2019t healthy, they can\u2019t go to school or they can\u2019t focus in school, for kids, or they can\u2019t go to work.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

CFBNJ has already had to eliminate its nutrition education program due to funding losses, laying off about 30 staff members.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cTheir job was to be in the community teaching people how to eat healthy food,\u201d she said. \u201cIt was a great program. It was not only beneficial to those people\u2019s lives that they were healthier, but even financially. I mean, the health care costs that you save down the road has been proven time and time again.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Food insecurity rarely exists in isolation, McCarthy said. What pantries need now is a more \u201cholistic response.\u201d When food banks can pair families with social workers, she said, more than half of participants are off pantry lines within four to six months.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cIf someone can actually meet with a family to help understand why they\u2019re at the pantry and help them navigate that, we really see a difference. Getting people food for today is incredibly important, but really looking at those longer term solutions is what we all need in the long run.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cIf someone can actually meet with a family to help understand why they\u2019re at the pantry and help them navigate that, we really see a difference,\u201d she said. \u201cGetting people food for today is incredibly important, but really looking at those longer term solutions is what we all need in the long run.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Down the shore, Stefanik\u2019s biggest concern is the rising cost of living and limited housing.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the summer, a lot of places will add a tourist tax. There\u2019s no \u2018locals discount\u2019 at the grocery store,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd then wages aren\u2019t keeping up with the costs, and the third thing that\u2019s pretty unique about living down here is not just the cost of housing, but the fact that there\u2019s no housing available.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

She said being able to rise out of the ALICE threshold often comes down to salaries, stability, and wage growth. Many residents in New Jersey\u2019s southern counties are hourly workers, and even with a high minimum wage, the cost of living remains out of reach.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cThe majority of properties sit empty for most of the year. The locals can\u2019t secure housing to begin with, and then if they can, the cost to do so is like one of the highest in the country right now,\u201d said Stefanik. \u201cThe ability to break into home ownership is almost impossible in the communities that we serve.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The problem extends beyond New Jersey, she said\u2014across nearly every coastal town, wealth and hardship exist side by side.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen people think of someone living in poverty, most of us can imagine that, but when you think of an ALICE household \u2014 above the threshold but not comfortable \u2014 you want to paint a picture of a person that\u2019s not like you because it feels safer, but that\u2019s almost the entire population of people we\u2019re serving,\u201d said Stefanik.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

She said one unexpected car repair or hospital bill can easily push families over the edge.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cYou look at a place like New Jersey, and our tax dollars are so high, we\u2019re being taxed at such a high rate, like is that really the best that we can do? And why is that the best that we\u2019re doing for our people?\u201d she said.<\/p>\n


\nWhen crisis becomes the status quo\u00a0 <\/p>\n

In theory, food banks are built to respond to crisis \u2014 hurricanes, floods, pandemics. But in many of these places, crisis has become the status quo. Osborne said that in South Carolina, they\u2019re already operating at their limits. \u201cWe\u2019re distributing millions of pounds of food every year,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re serving more people than ever before, and it\u2019s still not enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

In coastal communities around the country, the refrain is the same: private charity can\u2019t replace public infrastructure. And while communities are adapting \u2014 through mobile pantries, food lockers, and expanded delivery programs \u2014 innovation can only go so far when the underlying problem is affordability and bad policy.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The story unfolding in America\u2019s coastal towns isn\u2019t just about hunger; it\u2019s about the erosion of stability. The middle-class families who once filled hotels, rental homes, restaurants, and ice cream stands each summer are shrinking in number, while the workers who make those vacations possible can no longer afford to live where they work.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a quiet crisis \u2014 one that surfaces every fall when the beaches clear and the storefronts board up. These are communities built on the idea of plenty, now confronting what scarcity really looks like.<\/p>\n

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For the families lining up at food banks from Hilton Head to Cape May to Maui, the promise of the American coastal dream feels increasingly out of reach. And unless something changes in Washington, the off-season may become the only season that matters.<\/p>\n

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Read more<\/p>\n

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