Americans Starve While US Government Gives Billions Away On Foreign Food Aid

In many ways, America is the land of plenty. But for 1 in 6 people in the United States, hunger is a reality. Many people believe that the problems associated with hunger are confined to small pockets of society, certain areas of the country or to certain neighborhood, but the reality is much different.

Right now, millions of Americans are suffering with hunger. These are often hard-working adults, children and seniors who simply cannot make ends meet and are forced to go without food for several meals, or even days.

Although related, food insecurity and poverty are not the same.

Unemployment rather than poverty is a stronger predictor of food insecurity.

Poverty

In 2010, 46.2 million people (15.1 percent) were in poverty.

In 2010, 9.2 million (11.7 percent) families were in poverty.

In 2010, 26.3 million (13.7 percent) of people ages 18-64 were in poverty.

In 2010, 16.4 million (22.0 percent) children under the age of 18 were in poverty.

In 2010, 3.5 million (9.0 percent) seniors 65 and older were in poverty.

The overall Poverty Rate according to the Supplemental Poverty Measure is 16.0%, as compared with the official poverty rate of 15.1%.

Under the Supplemental Poverty Measure, there are 49.1 million people living in poverty, 2.5 million more than are represented by the official poverty measure (46.2 million).

Food Insecurity and Very Low

Food Security In 2010, 48.8 million Americans lived in food insecure households, 32.6 million adults and 16.2 million children.

In 2010, 14.5 percent of households (17.2 million households) were food insecure.

In 2010, 5.4 percent of households (6.4 million households) experienced v very low food security.

In 2010, households with children reported food insecurity at a significantly higher rate than those without children, 20.2 percent compared to 11.7 percent.

In 2010, households that had higher rates of food insecurity than the national average included households with children (20.2 percent), especially households with children headed by single women (35.1percent) or single men (25.4 percent), Black non-Hispanic households (25.1 percent) and Hispanic households (26.2 percent).

In 2009, 8.0 percent of seniors living alone (925,000 households) were food insecure.

Food insecurity exists in every county in America, ranging from a low of 5 percent in Steele County, ND to a high of 38 percent in Wilcox County, AL.

Nine states exhibited statistically significant higher household food insecurity rates than the U.S. national average 2008-2010:

United States 14.6%

Mississippi 19.4%

Texas 18.8%

Arkansas 18.6%

Alabama 17.3%

Georgia 16.9%

Ohio 16.4%

Florida 16.1%

California 15.9%

North Carolina 15.7%

Use of Emergency Food Assistance and Federal Food Assistance Programs.

In 2010, 4.8 percent of all U.S. households (5.6 million households) accessed emergency food from a food pantry one or more times.

In 2010, 59.2 percent of food-insecure households participated in at least one of the three major Federal food assistance programs –Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly Food Stamp Program), The National School Lunch Program, and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children.

Feeding America provides emergency food assistance to an estimated 37 million low-income people annually, a 46 percent increase from 25 million since Hunger in America 2010.See here for more details http://www.joyjunction.org/

- Asian Tribune -

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