Shortfalls in these programs put extra pressure on food banks during the pandemic. And the effects of these deficits are not just short-term, says Megan Sandel, co-director of the Grow Clinic for Children at Boston Medical Center. She says she has seen a 40 percent increase in her caseload, with over two-thirds reporting food insecurity.

In the past, Sandel says, it wasn’t unusual for low-income Americans to have to stretch a dollar at the end of the month.

“Now they are running out of their food budget the second or third week of the month. Parents are going back into the kitchen at mealtime so kids won’t notice that parents aren’t eating themselves,” she says.