New collective data from Bermuda’s food aid providers tells a more complex story than many might expect. At a time when Bermuda is experiencing one of the lowest unemployment rates in its history, you may assume that food insecurity would be declining.

Yet food aid providers across the island have consistently reported increasing demand for food assistance since the pandemic. So why do the finalised numbers from 2025 show that fewer meals and grocery bags were distributed compared with 2023? The answer is not reduced need. It is rising cost and constrained capacity.

What the numbers show: collective data from the Non-Profit Alliance of Bermuda’s Association of Food Aid Providers (AFAP) shows an interesting story. AFAP brings together nine churches and non-profit organisations that provide food aid services across the island, including Adventist Community Services, Age Concern Bermuda, Bermuda is Love, the Cathedral, Christ Church Warwick, the Eliza DoLittle Society, Meals on Wheels, the Salvation Army, and St Vincent de Paul Society. Analysis of collective data across seven of the nine AFAP members shows that between 2023 and 2025:

• Grocery bags distributed decreased 14 per cent

• Food vouchers decreased 46 per cent

• Meals provided decreased 36 per cent

• Clients served decreased modestly by 16 per cent

• Total spending on food aid remained nearly flat (just a 1 per cent increase)

• Cost per client increased from $177 to $191

Organisations are spending roughly the same overall — but serving fewer people and providing fewer outputs. That is not because demand has fallen. It is because the cost of delivering food aid has increased and become more complex. While some food prices have risen, providers are also navigating higher operating costs and different cost pressures depending on how services are delivered. Organisations are now spending on average 8 per cent more per client served than only two years ago.

The cost of doing business has increased: food aid providers face the same pressures as households:

• Prices for some food items have increased and remain high, although costs vary depending on the type of food purchased and how organisations source their supplies

• Operating costs have risen

• Fundraising has become more difficult

Greater amounts are being spent per person to provide the same level of service. For many AFAP members, providing consistent, high-quality food support now costs more per client than it did two years ago. However, the cost pressures vary across organisations depending on the types of food provided, sourcing strategies and service models.

Importantly, food price trends are not uniform across every item or provider. Some organisations report that while certain staple items have increased in cost, others have remained stable or even decreased. Providers are often adapting menus, sourcing strategies and food choices to manage these fluctuations and maintain programme stability.

This means organisations are making difficult decisions: absorb higher costs, reduce outputs, adjust offerings or limit intake. For example, Eliza DoLittle has operated with a wait list for new clients for the past two years.

Many charities, not just food aid providers, are expressing challenges with the fundraising environment. In 2025, 50 per cent of NAB members did not meet their fundraising goals for the year.

Qualitatively, non-profits report that it is taking significantly more effort to raise the same dollars than it did ten years ago, diverting time away from service delivery. So, while AFAP continues to report new demand for food aid, without proportional increases in funding, capacity is naturally constrained.

Innovation within constraint: not all organisations have responded in the same way. The St Vincent de Paul Society, for example, has been able to increase the number of people served by finding ways to stretch resources further and provide lower-cost assistance to more individuals.

Other members have focused on improving co-ordination to ensure individuals can access services across the network efficiently. For example, AFAP has worked to ensure food aid coverage seven days a week, and has published a weekly food aid calendar to support clients with accessing food assistance. This is a strong example of how many in the third sector collaborate and co-ordinate to improve service efficiency and reach, contrary to the common public perception that the sector is disjointed.

Demand has not disappeared — it has shifted: importantly, providers consistently report that need remains high. NAB has been co-ordinating the AFAP since the pandemic, and over that time has heard a consistent trend in meetings: more families are in need, not fewer.

An important part to this story is Bermuda’s low unemployment and the fact that many families accessing food aid are employed. Most of us are personally aware of the costs of housing, utilities, transportation and food prices and their strain on working households. For many, wages have not kept pace with inflation. Even full-time employment does not guarantee food security.

The data therefore reflects something critical: when unemployment is low but food insecurity persists, the issue is structural affordability. With this in mind, the recently released government Budget for 2026-27 is welcome, with clear efforts made to address cost-of-living constraints for working families.

A shared responsibility: AFAP exists to co-ordinate services, reduce gaps and strengthen the overall system. Through regular meetings, data sharing and joint problem-solving, members work to ensure that support remains accessible and dignified. But co-ordination alone cannot offset macroeconomic pressures. Food aid providers need community support. There are meaningful ways to strengthen Bermuda’s food aid network:

• Volunteer with a food aid provider to support frontline service delivery

• Donate to a provider to help sustain essential programmes

• Join the board of a food aid organisation and contribute your skills to governance and leadership

Food aid organisations are adapting, innovating and collaborating. But they cannot absorb rising costs indefinitely without broader community support.

• Nicola Paugh is the executive director of the Non-Profit Alliance of Bermuda. For more information on AFAP, go to its page onnonprofitalliance.bm