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15% of U.S. Families Face Hunger, ‘Food Insecurity’
Nov. 16, 2010 -- Three out of every 20 American families had trouble affording basic foods in 2009, a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) survey shows.
That adds up to 17.4 million households that last year didn't always know where their next meal was coming from. Among them were the 5.7% of U.S. households in which at least one family member actually did not get enough to eat.
Of these 6.8 million families with "very low food security," nearly two-thirds were hungry but could not afford food and 28% went an entire day without food.
"Adults usually shield children from hunger, but in 469,000 households -- 1.2% of households with children -- one or more children had reduced food intake and disrupted eating patterns," lead report author Mark Nord, PhD, of the USDA's economic research service, said at a news conference.
The actual number of hungry Americans is almost surely larger than this, as the USDA surveyed only families with a stable address. Homeless families or those displaced and living with friends or relatives were not included.
"This report underscores that food insecurity and hunger does exist in this country. It does remain a major problem for us, and it does reflect what is going on in the economy," Kevin Concannon, USDA undersecretary for food, nutrition, and consumer services, said at the news conference.
The "silver lining" is that U.S. food insecurity isn't significantly worse than last year.
Things might well have been much worse. The current peak in food insecurity reflects the U.S. recession and massive loss of jobs.
"From 2008 to 2009, the number of unemployed went from under 9 million to over 14 million," Concannon noted.
Why didn't food insecurity increase? A major reason is the federal safety net. According to Concannon:
- 5 million people were added to the food stamp program, now known as SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). More than 42 million Americans received SNAP benefits in 2009 at a cost of $53.6 billion.
- More children are receiving free or reduced-price breakfasts and lunches in the school lunch program. In 2009, the program fed lunch to an average 31.1 million kids each day.
- 400,000 more women, infants, and children participated in the special supplemental nutrition program known as WIC, bringing the total number of participants to more than 9 million.
"Currently these programs served one in four Americans over the course of the year," Concannon noted.
The Hungriest States
Even though these safety net programs are almost entirely financed by the federal government, the degree of food insecurity and hunger varies widely from state to state.
Nord says this is due to a number of factors: state poverty rates, housing costs, and state unemployment figures. But the degree to which states enroll eligible families into the federal SNAP (food stamp) program appears to be the major factor.
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