Coronavirus: Food insecurity increases for Idahoans during pandemic, report says
One in six Idahoans may not have enough food to eat this year, according to an analysis from a national food bank.
Nearly 284,000 Idaho residents are projected to experience food insecurity, Feeding America said in a report. That’s 49% more than the nearly 190,000 people — one in nine — who needed help before the coronavirus pandemic.
Ada County, Idaho’s largest, with a population of 446,050, is seeing a 57% increase in the number of people who don’t have enough food. Nearly 64,000 county residents need some assistance, compared with nearly 41,000 in 2018, the last year surveyed, the report said.
Canyon County, with a population of 212,230, is seeing a 50% increase. Food America estimates that 34,580 need food assistance, up from 23,090 in 2018.
The increased need is tied to the high number of Idahoans who lost their jobs after businesses closed or had to cut staff because of the pandemic. In April, Idaho’s unemployment rate shot up to 11.5%, with more than 100,000 people out of work.
“It’s not hard to understand they find themselves in needing some additional assistance, and food is oftentimes the area where they’ll trim their budget,” Idaho Foodbank CEO Karen Vauk told the Statesman last month. “We want to make sure whether they’re providing the food assistance, so they can use those dollars to pay their rent or their mortgage, you know, keep the roof over their head, as they’re working through these times.”
The Idaho Foodbank is holding a pair of food giveaways — Thursday, June 11, in Nampa and Thursday, June 25, in Boise. Both will take place at 3 p.m.
Each household will receive two boxes of food containing cooked meats, milk, butter, cheese, and fresh fruits and vegetables.
The handout is part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Coronavirus Food Assistance Program. There are no income restrictions and anyone can take part.
Recipients will remain in their cars and volunteers will place the boxes in their car or trunk.
More than 1,000 people are expected, said Susanne Lally, Idaho Foodbank spokesperson.
The Nampa handout will take place at the Ford Idaho Center parking lot, 16114 N. Idaho Center Blvd. The Boise session will take place at the Expo Idaho parking lot, 5610 N. Glenwood St.
College of Idaho, NNU change fall semester dates
Two Canyon County colleges still plan to resume face-to-face classes in the fall. But they’ve tweaked their calendars as they prepare for a possible resurgence of the coronavirus.
The College of Idaho in Caldwell will start classes one week early and end the semester before Thanksgiving. Classes will start Aug. 19 and all students will complete their finals before the Nov. 26 holiday to limit students possibly bringing the virus back to campus after traveling.
Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa will begin classes one day early, Aug. 31, and finish the semester Dec. 10, a week early. The college encourages all students to remain on campus during the Thanksgiving break to reduce the health risk that comes with travel.
Any students that choose to travel during Thanksgiving will finish the semester online, according to the university’s press release.
The College of Idaho’s and Northwest Nazarene’s plans follow many colleges across the country trying to limit students on campus after the Thanksgiving break this year. Boise State, for example, will start classes Aug. 24 and move fully online for the final three weeks after the holiday.
Governor calls on residents to take ‘ONE Idaho’ pledge
Idaho Gov. Brad Little announced Tuesday the launch of ONE Idaho, an initiative to “highlight the resilience and adaptability of Idaho businesses, employees and consumers,” according to a news release.
On the initiative’s website — one.idaho.gov — Idaho residents and businesses can sign the ONE Idaho pledge to show their support, including maintaining physical distancing guidelines and improving on-site cleaning efforts. The website also will be a place where the public can access the safety considerations that different industries should be taking while reopening.
ONE Idaho’s social media channels will display “business innovations and community initiatives” that have emerged during the coronavirus outbreak.
“Idaho’s economy will rebound strongly when 1.7 million Idahoans unite around one common goal — keeping our state’s economy open and making Idaho a safe and healthy place for all through hard work, shared sacrifice and care for our communities,” Little said in the release.
Community spread found in Lincoln County
Idaho now has 24 counties with reports of community spread after health officials in Lincoln County reported the spread on Monday.
As of Monday evening, Lincoln County had 31 confirmed cases of the virus, according to the South Central Public Health District.
On Monday, 49 new cases of the coronavirus, which causes the COVID-19 respiratory disease, were reported around Idaho. (That covers Sunday and Monday, because new numbers are no longer being released on Sundays.) New cases were reported in Ada, Canyon, Cassia, Jerome, Twin Falls and Minidoka, among others.
In Benewah County, case totals remain inconsistent between what the state reports and what the local health district says. On the Panhandle Health District’s website, Benewah has only seven confirmed cases. But on the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare website, the state reports there is over twice that number.
Idaho had 2,880 confirmed cases of the coronavirus as of Monday evening. State health officials added two to the list of “probable cases,” bringing that total to 301, according to IDHW.
No deaths were reported over the weekend in Idaho, and the state’s coronavirus death count remains at 83.
Coronavirus cases have been confirmed in the majority of Idaho counties: Ada 784, Adams 3, Bannock 44, Benewah 7, Bingham 23, Blaine 503, Bonner 6, Bonneville 45, Camas 1, Canyon 316, Caribou 3, Cassia 104, Custer 2, Elmore 31, Franklin 8, Fremont 3, Gem 13, Gooding 47, Idaho 3, Jefferson 7, Jerome 171, Kootenai 85, Latah 6, Lemhi 1, Lincoln 31, Madison 17, Minidoka 71, Nez Perce 74, Owyhee 8, Payette 22, Power 7, Teton 10, Twin Falls 379, Valley 3 and Washington 42.
Community spread has been detected in 24 Idaho counties: Ada, Bannock, Benewah, Bingham, Blaine, Bonner, Bonneville, Canyon, Cassia, Elmore, Gem, Gooding, Jefferson, Jerome, Kootenai, Lemhi, Lincoln, Madison, Minidoka, Owyhee, Payette, Power, Teton and Twin Falls.
This story was originally published June 9, 2020 at 1:00 PM.
