What You Should Know About Hunger
There is hunger in every single county of every single state in America.
Ever since the financial and economic crisis in 2008, there has been a dramatic increase in hunger in the United States. This food insecurity ranges from a low of 2.4 percent in Slope County, ND to a high of 35.2 percent in Holmes County, MS.
Right now, more than 1 in 5 children is at risk of hunger. Among African-Americans and Latinos, that number jumps to nearly 1 in 3 children who is at risk of hunger.
Households with children reported a significantly higher food insecurity rate than households without children in 2011 (20.6% vs. 12.2%).
Over 20 million children receive a free or reduced-price lunch each school day. Less than half of them get breakfast, and only 10 percent have access to summer feeding sites. When school is not in session these children are likely to go hungry.
50.1 million
Number of Americans struggling to put food on the table.
17.9 million
Number of households that are food insecure.
15.9 million
Number of children living in food insecure households in 2012.
4.8 million
Number of seniors that reported being food insecure in 2011.
$8.7 billion
The amount cut from the US food stamps budget by the recent passing of the 2013 Farm Bill.
850,000
Number of households across the country will be affected by these cuts. The average households will lose an average of $90 per month in benefits.
These seven states have statistically higher food insecurity rates than the U.S. national average (14.7%):
Mississippi 20.9%
Arkansas 19.7%
Texas 18.4%
Alabama 17.9%
North Carolina 17.0%
Georgia 16.9%
Missouri 16.7%
Nevada 16.6%
Ohio 16.1%
California 15.6%
Sources: Feeding America, Bread for the World, Yahoo News, SNAP to Health, World Hunger Education Service, MSNBC