The National Insurance Institute's Research and Planning Administration examined, as part of its research on poverty and inequality (published last week), the phenomenon of food insecurity in the State of Israel. The survey was conducted in 2021, the year of Corona and is a repeat sample from previous years. The findings from the survey show a general improvement in the state of food security in the population and its results are consistent with the findings of the Poverty and Social Gaps Report. The improvement is mainly seen in families with children.
Despite the improvement, about16% of the families and 21% of the children live in food insecurity and concentrate mainly on the population living in the Jerusalem district and the northern and southern periphery. A multivariate analysis by the Research Administration found that one-fifth of the children in the Jerusalem and Northern districts live in continuous food insecurity. In addition, food insecurity is also concentrated mainly in the Arab population and among recipients of subsistence allowances (income support benefit and disability pension).
In the year that continued the health and economic COVID-19 crisis, the proportion of families living in food insecurity fell from 18.1% in2016 to16.2% in 2021. The decline in severe food insecurity was more moderate: from 8.9% of families in2016 to 8.2% in2021. There was also a marked decline in food insecurity among children between the years surveyed, from 26.3% to 21.1%. The decline among children was also characterized by the severity of food insecurity, which decreased from 14.5% to 10.1% between 2016 and 2021.
| | Total (thousands) | Percentage of population | Total (thousands) | Percentage of population | Total (thousands) | Percentage of population |
| | 2016 | | | | | |
| High food security | 2,130 | 74.9% | 3,853 | 74.4% | 1,603 | 65.8% |
| Reasonable food security | 198 | 7.0% | 361 | 7.0% | 194 | 8.0% |
| Total in food security | 2,328 | 81.9% | 4,214 | 81.4% | 1,796 | 73.7% |
| Mild food insecurity | 263 | 9.3% | 482 | 9.3% | 288 | 11.8% |
| Severe food insecurity | 252 | 8.9% | 481 | 9.3% | 353 | 14.5% |
| Total in food insecurity | 516 | 18.1% | 963 | 18.6% | 641 | 26.3% |
| | 2021 | | | | | |
| High food security | 2,498 | 77.5% | 4,232 | 75.7% | 2,234 | 70.8% |
| Mild food insecurity | 205 | 6.4% | 380 | 6.8% | 255 | 8.1% |
| Total in food security | 2,702 | 83.8% | 4,612 | 82.5% | 2,488 | 78.9% |
| Mild food insecurity | 257 | 8.0% | 472 | 8.5% | 348 | 11.0% |
| Severe food insecurity | 265 | 8.2% | 504 | 9.0% | 317 | 10.1% |
| Total in food insecurity | 522 | 16.2% | 976 | 17.5% | 665 | 21.1% |
The findings of the report show that the decline in food insecurity was shared by many population groups: among Jews, the level rose between 2016 and 2021 from 86% to 89%, meaning that about 11% suffer some level of food
insecurity. This compares with a much higher rate among the Arab population, which rose between the years from 56.8% to 57.6%, leaving 42.4 families in this population with food insecurity. That's almost three times higher than the overall average.
Among ultra-Orthodox Jews, on the other hand, the poverty rates are similar to those of the ultra-Orthodox population, there has been a marked improvement in the level of food security, a level approaching that of the general population. In families with children, about 19% live in food insecurity, of whom half (8.5%) live in severe food insecurity. In contrast, 12.5% of elderly families live in food insecurity in 2021.
In families of two or more breadwinners, there are about 156 thousand who live in food insecurity, which constitute 9.9%, about 40 thousand families with a single parent live in food insecurity (out of about 118 thousand single-parent families), meaning about 34%.
Up to age 30, there are about 32 thousand people living in food insecurity (out of 148 thousand). Between age 31-45, there are about 176 thousand people living in food insecurity. 38 thousand income support recipients lived in food insecurity out of 82 thousand eligible people who represent about a half.
The findings show that those who lived in high food insecurity in the previous survey remained in this situation in 2021. About 90% remained in food security in both surveys - 6.5% of them deteriorated to moderate food insecurity and about 4% to severe food insecurity. The report indicates a high degree of permanency in the phenomenon of severe food insecurity, which may have serious implications for health. 68% of the population lived in food security during the three survey periods (2012,2016,2021) and 6.5% lived in severe food insecurity during the three survey periods. The National Insurance Institute's report explicitly shows that those living in poor families are 1.7 times more likely to be in high food insecurity than those living in families above the poverty line.
Minister of Welfare and Social Security Yaakov Mergui: "An intolerable situation that must be considered. This report adds to the poverty report published last week and illustrates the need for an immediate action plan. I instructed the professionals in the National Insurance Institute and the Ministry of Social Affairs to present me with a plan as soon as possible to eradicate poverty and improve the state of food insecurity in Israel. Immediately upon receipt of the plan, I will demand an urgent discussion in the government in order to advance proposals for a decision to promote a plan to fight poverty and food insecurity."
Minister in the Ministry of Welfare and Social Security, Rabbi Yoav Ben Tzur: "Over half a million families in Israel live in food insecurity, this is a shocking and painful statistic that must be dealt with urgently. We see the disadvantaged populations in society, in the periphery and in cities, collapsing under the heavy burden of the cost of living and giving up basic meals out of severe economic distress. As every day, hundreds of thousands of children in Israel go to educational institutions without a good lunch, and this is a sad situation that is upsets me. There is a need to change the perception of the sad and painful reality in order to ensure a dignified life and assistance to those who need it in a wide and transversal manner. Welfare policy and concern for weak populations in society is a supreme moral value that obligates all of us, and we will act with all the tools at our disposal to provide a nutritional solution to those hungry children. "
Acting General Director of the National Insurance, Yarona Shalom: "The food insecurity report is in line with the poverty report. We see that families who were poor and failed to 'put food on the table' in the past, their situation usually remains the same, this is an unlikely situation in a developed country and we see this report as a policy tool for promoting legislation, both regarding the increase in allowances and easing parameters for receiving subsistence allowances. In the coming days, the National Insurance Institute will present a number of solutions to decision makers in favor of assisting vulnerable populations in Israeli society. "