6 in 10 People Experienced Food Insecurity for the First Time During the Pandemic

By: Kent L. Bradley, M.D., MBA, MPH – Chief Health and Nutrition Officer

The pandemic has changed the world as we know it, causing a tragic crisis in public health, the economy, and food insecurity. The number of people suffering from hunger and malnutrition, especially children, continues to rise and is threatening the most vulnerable communities.

Partnering with Feed the Children, we commissioned OnePoll to assess the pandemic’s impact on food insecurity and families around the globe. The survey included more than 9,000 respondents from 21 countries.

Here are the key findings:

49 percent of global respondents have experienced food insecurity during their lives.
61 percent of these experienced it for the first time since the start of the pandemic.
32 percent of American respondents said they didn’t have enough money to buy food.
31 percent of Americans said they didn’t know where their next meal would come from.

Access to affordable healthy food should be the norm for every person but, tragically, we find ourselves in a global crisis that needs our attention with more than 820 million people around the world living in hunger, a crisis that has been compounded by the pandemic.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) emphasizes that school programs can play a crucial role in tackling malnutrition, improving diets, and developing good, life-long healthy eating habits. As a global nutrition company, Herbalife Nutrition empowers people to access important information about nutrition, health, and well-being.

One of the ways we do that is by educating consumers about nutrient density and how to make healthier choices. Understanding the guidelines for a healthy balanced diet is important and we need, as a human race, to ensure that people all over the world have access to affordable healthy foods.

We also provide critical resources and expertise to communities around the world through our Global Sustainability initiatives focusing on fostering healthy people and communities. Collaborating with leading nonprofit partners, we are committed to improving the health and wellness of the communities where we live and work.