A partnership between Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island and Brown University’s School of Public Health, the RI Life Index measures the “lived realities” of Rhode Islanders

PROVIDENCE – If you ask Rhode Islanders what they think about the state of the economy, employment, food security, health care and housing, a few trends begin to emerge.

For example, positive perceptions about the affordability of housing, cost of living and employment have gone down – in some instances sharply – in recent years. Yet Latino and Black residents feel better about their access to health care, while white residents feel about the same as they did a year ago.

Perceptions on food security are more complicated. Overall, white Rhode Islanders feel relatively good about it, but Latino and Black residents, especially in cities with high percentages of child poverty, have a much stronger negative perception on food security. Among Latino residents over 55 years old, the negative perception is even stronger.

These are some of the findings from the RI Life Index, an annual survey that measures the “lived realities” of residents in the Ocean State (the measures are also known as social determinants of health). The index, released on Wednesday, is a partnership between Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island and Brown University’s School of Public Health. Nearly 2,000 Rhode Islanders participated in this year’s survey.

Overall, the index’s score was 57 on a scale of 0 to 100, a point below last year (higher scores indicate more positive perceptions). Some scores, such as the cost of living (21) and affordable housing (31), have been steadily declining since 2020. While others, such as access to health care (68), seem to be rebounding after a dip.

Food insecurity a rising concern

Of particular salience to this year’s index was access to nutritious food (64), which was down two points from last year and nine points since 2021. The areas with the lowest scores for food insecurity were Central Falls, Block Island and Woonsocket.

Melissa Clark, a professor at Brown University’s School of Public Health and the principal investigator for the index, noted that one out of five households is making trade-offs between paying for food or something else.

The index’s results buttress the findings of a recent report from the Rhode Island Community Food Bank, which found that nearly two out of five households in the state struggle to afford food. This has led to a record demand at food banks in the state.

A panel discussion followed the launch of the index at South Street Landing, an office and academic building for Brown University. It featured Andrew Schiff, CEO of the Rhode Island Community Food Bank, along with Kathleen Gorman, professor of psychology and director of the Feinstein Center for a Hunger Free America at the University of Rhode Island; Teddi Jallow, executive director of the Refugee Dream Center; and Alison Tovar, an associate professor and interim director of the Center for Health Promotion and Health Equity at the Brown University School of Public Health.

The panel highlighted the challenges many families face in accessing quality food. Jallow noted, for example, that refugees only get a $1,350 stipend from the government to secure an apartment, get health care and afford food – a paltry sum given the cost of rent and other services in the state. The panel also noted that lawful permanent residents – also known as green card holders – have to wait five years before they can qualify for SNAP benefits. For 20% of respondents, transportation was a barrier to accessing food.

Many of the problems with food insecurity are inextricably tied to other issues such as housing and health care, the panelists said.

“No one is ever just hungry,” Schiff said. “The people who experience food insecurity are also having difficulty affording most of their other bills.”

Policy recommendations were also discussed, such as implementing a program to bridge people out of SNAP benefits, but overall systemic change is needed to address food insecurity in Rhode Island, according to the panelists.

“We don’t have a system in place where we are making it easy for people to get help,” Gorman said.