New Data on Food Insecurity Shows Anti-Hunger Efforts Must Continue

This is a post from the Bread for the World Blog.  

This morning, the Department of Agriculture released new data showing that 14.5 percent of American families struggled to put food on the table in 2010. The technical term for this is “food insecure.”

The good news is that while the number of food insecure families has remained basically unchanged since 2008, when the rates first spiked due to the recession, this year’s data does demonstrate some improvement. The number of families with very low food security declined between 2009 and 2010. (Very low food security means that at least one family member’s food intake was reduced, and eating patterns were disrupted because of a lack of money for food.) Food insecurity among households with children also declined slightly.

These small improvements, however, are not enough to end hunger across the country. In the world’s wealthiest nation, more than 6 million households are food insecure, and more than 16 million children still live in families that struggle to put food on the table. As so many Americans know, this data shows that the effects of a struggling economy continue to be real and severe.

With record high poverty and unemployment rates, there is no doubt that food insecurity numbers could have been much worse than what we saw this morning. Were it not for programs like SNAP (formerly food stamps), school meals, and WIC, combined with the efforts of local food banks, the needs of many hungry Americans would not have been met. Throughout the recession, more and more Americans have had to rely on the federal safety net to ensure their family gets sufficient food. Sadly, federal nutrition programs have been prime targets for cuts during the ongoing budget debates in Congress.

You can help us ensure that next year’s numbers show real progress in eliminating hunger. This September, Bread for the World has partnered with Feeding America -- the nation’s food bank network -- to continue to raise awareness about hunger and to mobilize action against it. Visit www.hungeractionmonth.org to find out how you can get involved with your local community.

Also, learn more about Bread’s efforts to protect vital federal nutrition programs by visiting www.bread.org/budget. Also, read a more detailed analysis of the food insecurity data released September 7, 2011.

Christine Meléndez Ashley is a policy analyst at Bread for the World.

Posted by Bread on September 07, 2011 in Advocacy, Hunger and the U.S. Budget,Hunger in the News, U.S. Hunger / Comments (0) / TrackBack (0)