MILLIONS STILL FACE FOOD INSECURITY

More than 41 million Americans lived in households struggling with food insecurity in 2016, according to a new USDA report. However, the data reveal a small decline in household food insecurity in 2016 from 2015, with the rate dropping from 12.7 to 12.3%. Other key findings from the USDA report include:

• The rates of food insecurity were substantially higher among households with children, and for black- and Hispanic-headed households. The rate worsened for black, non-Hispanic households from 2015 to 2016, while improving for Hispanic and white, non-Hispanic households.
• Rates among households with children remain higher than rates for households without children (16.5% versus 10.5%).
• Households in rural areas experienced considerably greater struggles with hunger compared to those in metro areas, with higher rates of overall food insecurity  (15% versus 11.8%), and higher rates of very low food security (6.6% compared to 4.6%).
• The food insecurity rate in the South, already higher than in the West, Northeast, and Midwest, rose from 2015 to 2016, while it fell in the other three regions.  

Source: USDA, 9/6/17, Food Insecurity

May is "Older Americans Month," so it seemed a good time to think about hunger and food insecurity among our seniors.

Nationally, 15.8 million households are food insecure, including 2.9 million households with at least one adult aged 65 or older. Millions more households with seniors face marginal food security.

1.2 million seniors who lived alone were food insecure in 2015, and approximately 548,000 of these seniors were experiencing very low food insecurity.

Ten percent, or 4.6 million, of seniors age 65 and over lived at or below the poverty level in 2014.

Source: Food Research & Action Council, 5/1/17, Senior Hunger

SUMMARIZING THE NEW NUMBERS ON HUNGER

In recent weeks, a cascade of research has been released on the number of Americans struggling against hunger and poverty. Here’s a brief summary.

• The Census Bureau’s annual report on income and poverty shows that the national poverty rate decreased from the recession high of 15.1% in 2010 to 13.5% in 2015. Mirroring this decline, USDA national food insecurity research reveals that the national rate of individuals living in food insecure households dropped significantly from 15.4% in 2014 to 13.4% in 2015.
• According to the Food Research and Action Council’s latest report, 1 in 5 families with children could not afford adequate food at some points in 2015. If it weren’t for federal nutrition programs, these numbers would be even worse.
• USDA’s food security report shows single-parent families with children were significantly more likely to be food insecure when headed by a woman than by a man (30.3 to 22.4%). Economically, the poverty rate for single mothers is 28.2%, nearly nine percentage points higher than for single fathers.

Source: Food Research & Action Center, 10/20/16, Hunger Data

FOOD HARDSHIP HIGHER IN HOUSEHOLDS WITH CHILDREN

Despite an improving economy, far too many Americans — and, especially, far too many children — still live in households that struggle against hunger, according to a new report that finds one in five households with children suffers from food hardship nationally, and in nearly half of the states. The food hardship rate for households with children (19.2%) is considerably higher than the rate for households without children (14.2%). Among the nation’s 100 largest urban areas, 45 had food hardship rates above 20% for households with children.

Source: Food Research & Action Center, 9/20/16, Food Hardship

HUNGER TOUCHES EVERY COUNTY IN US

USDA reports that more than 48 million people in America—including 15 million children—are food-insecure. On average, the food-insecurity rate among the nation’s 3,142 counties is 14.7% (and even higher for children).  Food insecurity ranged from a high of 38% in Jefferson County, Mississippi to a low of 4% in Loudoun County, Virginia where median household income at nearly $124,000 per year. According to USDA 353 counties struggle with “persistent poverty,” where at least 20% of the population has been living in poverty for 30 years.  There is a significant overlap between these counties and those that fall into the top 10% percent for food insecurity nationwide: of the latter, nearly two-thirds suffer from persistent-poverty. Moreover, hunger doesn’t necessarily stop once someone is above the SNAP income eligibility threshold--185% of the poverty level. In fact, more than 25% of all food-insecure people live in such households. There are now 115 counties where the majority of food-insecure individuals are likely ineligible for most federal nutrition assistance programs based on their household income.

Source: Talk Poverty, 8/3/16, Widespread Hunger

NEW FINDINGS ON FOOD INSECURITY AND CHILDREN

Much recent research links food insecurity with negative outcomes for children’s health, education, and other areas. Other research shows that programs like SNAP can have large and long-lasting benefits, especially when the benefits are received by mothers during pregnancy and by children at a young age. A recent study that examines the impact of the rollout of the original Food Stamp Program in the late 1960s shows that receiving  Food Stamps during pregnancy reduced the incidence of low birth weight by between five and 12%. The same researchers also found that among adults who grew up in disadvantaged households, access to Food Stamps in utero and early childhood led to: a 16 percentage-point decline in the likelihood of being obese as an adult and significant reductions in metabolic syndrome (a cluster of conditions associated with heart disease and diabetes); an 18 percentage-point increase in the likelihood of completing high school; and significant improvements in overall health and economic self-sufficiency among women. This and other research findings on food insecurity are highlighted in recent newsletter from the Food Research and Action Council.

Source: Food Research & Action Council, 8/3/16, Food Insecurity Research

FAMILIES STRUGGLE TO PUT FOOD ON THE TABLE

Nationally, one in six households reported they struggled to afford to buy food in the past 12 months, according to a new report. That’s down significantly from 2013 when nearly 1 in five households (18.9%) reported struggling to find food. In 31 states at least one in seven households (14.3%) said that they did not have enough money to buy food at some point in the past year.  

Source: Food Research & Action Center, 6/30/16, Food Hardship

New report on summer food for children

After three years of significant growth, national participation in the Summer Nutrition Programs plateaued last summer, according to the Food Research & Action Center’s annual Hunger Doesn’t Take a Vacation report (pdf) released today. During July 2015, the programs served nearly 3.2 million low-income children across the country, a modest increase of 11,000 participants from July 2014. The Child Nutrition Reauthorization currently being considered by Congress provides an important opportunity to invest in the Summer Nutrition Programs so that more children return to school in the fall, well-nourished and ready to learn.

While the report shows New York State among the top ten in the nation for participation in summer meals by low-income children, that does not hold true here in the North Country, where it is very difficult for children in need to find a meal site.

EVERY COUNTY IN AMERICA FACES HUNGER

Despite an improved economy and lower national jobless rate since the recession, every single county in America is facing hunger, according to a new report. Americans living in the most remote and rural areas suffer many of the highest rates of food insecurity — and also pay more for groceries, according to the research. More than half the counties with the highest rates of overall food insecurity are rural, and people living in rural communities also face some of the highest average costs per meal.

Food insecurity is cropping up in many U.S. households that are not living below the poverty level. In 167 counties the majority of food insecure children don't qualify for federal nutrition programs such as the SNAP. But these children are far from well-off or well-fed, and instead rely on churches, food banks and charities that sometimes are the sole source of food.

Source: CNBC, 5/5/16, Pervasive Hunger

TRENDS IN U.S. FOOD ASSISTANCE

USDA’s annual look at food assistance programs shows the agency spent $104.1 billion in fiscal 2015 on its 15 domestic food and nutrition programs, about the same as in 2014. This was about 5% below the historical high of $109.2 billion set in FY 2013. SNAP accounted for 71% of all federal food assistance spending in FY 15. An average 45.8 million people per month participated in the program, 2% fewer than in FY 14. FY 2015 marked the second consecutive year that participation decreased, and only the third time in the last 15 years. About 8.0 million people per month participated in WIC in fiscal 2015, 3% less than FY 14. Daily participation in the National School Lunch Program averaged 30.5 million in FY 2015, about the same as the previous year. 65% of all participants received free meals, 7% received reduced-price meals, and 28% paid full price. An average of 14.0 million children participated in the School Breakfast Program each school day, 3% more than FY 14. 79% of all participants received free meals, 6% received reduced-price meals, and 15% paid full price.

Source: USDA, 3/16, Food Aid Trends

WHY DO SO MANY AMERICANS GO HUNGRY?

The latest USDA figures show almost 6% of households—about 18 million people—are consistently not getting enough to eat. Another 30 million people have occasional problems feeding themselves. Altogether, roughly 48 million people or one in seven Americans go hungry at some point during the year. This number actually underestimates the problem because the survey excludes the homeless and transients; groups that almost by definition lack enough food.

Given America’s bounty why does hunger remain a problem? Poverty and lack of access to resources are two of the key forces defining hunger in the U.S.

The link between poverty and hunger is clear. Approximately 40% of families living below the federally mandated poverty rate in 2014 were hungry that year. Households with children, single parents and those living below the poverty line are at particular risk. Many Americans also lack access to healthy food, either because they live in urban areas that lack grocery stores, live in rural areas that are far from stores, or don’t have reliable transportation to stores

Source: The Conversation, 3/9/16, US Hunger

LOW WAGES MAJOR CAUSE OF HUNGER

Low wages, followed by poverty and high housing costs were the chief causes of hunger cited by officials in the 22 cities surveyed in the U.S. Conference of Mayors 33rd annual assessment of hunger and homelessness. Two-thirds of the cities reported increased requests for emergency food assistance this year over last. People in families represented 67% of those who asked for emergency food, 42% were employed, 23% were elderly, and 10% were homeless. Despite increasing their budgets for emergency food assistance by 7.2%, in nearly half the 22 reporting cities, emergency kitchens and food pantries had to reduce the quantity of food they could offer, and in over half, facilities had to turn away people because they lacked resources. The reporting cities also estimated that 23% of the demand for emergency food help was unmet.

Source: U.S. Conference of Mayors, 12/22/15, Hunger in Cities

Food insecurity update following the recession

This latest Policy Action Brief from Children's HealthWatch details new research on the impact the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefit rollback in November 2013 had on food insecurity among families with young children. These findings confirm that the amount of the monthly SNAP benefit matters, and the SNAP rollback had a measurable, negative effect on household and child food insecurity.

Read the policy action brief and watch the video:

A little piece of good news...

PERCENTAGE STRUGGLING TO AFFORD FOOD AT 7-YEAR LOW

In the first quarter of 2015, 15.8% of Americans reported that in the last 12 months they had struggled to afford food for themselves or their families. This is the lowest percentage measured since 2008. The drop over the past year, when 17.4% of Americans reported struggling to buy food, affected most key demographic groups: Blacks, Asians, younger Americans, and lower-income Americans saw the most improvement in their ability to afford food.

Source: Gallup, 6/5/15, Food Hardship Drops

New "Meal Gap" research

Feeding America released new meal gap research earlier this month.  This work identifies both the food insecurity rate by county for the entire country and the meal gap, or unmet need for food.

Bad news for St. Lawrence County - the food insecurity rate has risen from 13.6% of the population to 14.8% or 16,610 people who do not always know where their next meal is coming from.  A third of those who are food insecure have incomes too high to qualify for federal assistance, like SNAP (formerly called food stamps) or free meals at school.

The only counties in New York state with similar food insecurity rates are our neighbors in the North Country - Jefferson and Franklin Counties - and the Counties that make up New York City.

Go here for an interactive map that lets you click on any state, county, or Congressional district in the country for local data.

New "food hardship" research released today

FRAC released today “How Hungry is America?” its latest look at Gallup survey data on food hardship. This report reviews 2014 data for the nation, every state, and 100 of the country’s largest MSAs. Here are five things you should know.

1. One in six American households (17.2 percent) said in 2014 that there had been times over the past 12 months that they didn’t have enough money to buy food that they or their families needed.
2. What that means – the economy is improving, but tens of millions of people are still struggling to afford the basics.
3. There’s not one state that is free from hunger. Even the “best” state on the report’s Food Hardship Index, North Dakota, has one in eleven households struggling to afford enough food. Nine states have more than one in five households struggling.
4. Such high food hardship rates are unacceptable, yet some in Congress continue to propose huge cuts to proven and effective programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), school meals programs, and other supports.
5. What you can do: Tell your Members of Congress that you want them to solve hunger by strengthening our nation’s safety net. Oppose efforts to cut nutrition programs. Add your name today to our Support SNAP petition.

Share the news: What is #foodhardship? That’s the struggle to afford enough food. See how it affects your state in @fractweets report. http://bit.ly/1N3jOO0

About the Report
How Hungry is America? contains data throughout 2014 for every state and (for 2013 and 2014 combined) 100 of the country’s largest metropolitan areas (MSA). The data were gathered as part of the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index project, which has been interviewing hundreds of households daily since January 2008. FRAC has analyzed responses to the question: “Have there been times in the past twelve months when you did not have enough money to buy food that you or your family needed?” A “yes” answer to this question is considered to signal that the household experienced food hardship. The full report is available at www.frac.org.

AMERICAN “HUNGER GAMES”

When I watched the first "Hunger Games" movie, it was with an overwhelming sadness.  For all I could think was, "this is exactly where America is headed!"  So it was interesting to see this analysis in US News and World Report recently.

Gloria

To date, the “Hunger Games” movies have grossed over $400 million in the US alone. Scene after scene of the fictional country the movie is set in reveals a poverty-ravaged nation filled with destitute children and families. That country, Panem, is based on a future version of America. Although "Hunger Games" is a heavily dramatized fiction, the film underscores several things that are also true of the state of poverty in America:

·  Working parents don’t make enough to feed their kids. 62% ff families with children receiving SNAP benefits were employed, but only 18% of all recipients had incomes above the poverty line.

·  Political rhetoric in both Panem and the US blames the poor. Panem’s dictator, President Coriolanus Snow, emphasizes that the poor districts have brought all of the war and destruction upon themselves. In America, unsubstantiated claims still remain that the values and behaviors of poor people are responsible for their situation.  But in reality poor people do not spend their welfare money on drugs and alcohol, and SNAP fraud, or exchanging food stamps for money, is just 1%.

·  Children have no voice, yet suffer the most. In the "Hunger Games", children are chosen randomly from each district to fight to the death. As in Panem, US children our poorest citizens. While the adult poverty rate is 13%, the child poverty rate is 22%. Yet policies aimed at children, such as food stamps and Medicaid, often come under fire because of the idea that they are handouts to parents that disincentivize work.

Source: US News & World Report, 12/3/14, Hunger Games