The Role of LGBTQ+ Youth Organizations in Addressing Food Insufficiency

Partnering with leading LGBTQ+ think tank the Williams Institute and member-based association CenterLink, data was gathered from 73 LGBTQ+ youth programs to examine the programs’ experiences and perspectives on addressing food insecurity among LGBTQ+ youth. Some highlights:

  • Older youth ages 18 to 25, transgender youth, and Black and Latinx youth more commonly did not have enough to eat,
  • 72.6% of youth programs noted school as source of food for LGBTQ+ youth (behind community-based organizations, 91.8%, and chosen family/friends, 82.2%),
  • Unstable housing was the most frequent reason programs reported for why youth lack adequate access to food (84.9%), followed by lack of access to jobs that pay livable wages (71.2%), family food insecurity (68.5%), lack of family support (63.0%), and transportation barriers (47.9%),
  • Only 56.5% of programs mentioned providing eligibility counseling or enrollment assistance for SNAP or WIC as a strategy utilized to increase youth access to food
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