Food
Security
36.2 million
Americans - including 12.4 million
children - don't have access to
enough healthy food to thrive. They
are food insecure and at risk of
hunger.
Food
insecurity exists in 11.1% of all
U.S. households:
- 30.2% of
all single-mom households
- 37.7% of
all households at or below the
poverty line
Food
insecure families (13.0 million
households):
- 50.0 % of
all food-insecure households
are white
- 47.6% - 6.2
million - have kids under 18;
53.4% of these are single-parent
households
- 33.8% live
in major cities
- 33.3% live
at or below the poverty line
- 23.1 % -
nearly one-quarter - of food
insecure households have kids
under 6
Food-insecure
children (12.4 million kids living
at risk of hunger):
- 49.2% live
in married-couple families
- 43.5% live
in single-mom families
- 41.9% are
white
- 41.1% - more
than 5 million kids at risk
of hunger live at or below the
poverty line
- 35.5% live
in cities outside of major metro
areas
Source:"Household
Food Security in the United States,
2007; USDA Economic Research Service,
November 2008; http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/err66/
Poverty
- In 2009,
the poverty threshold for a
family of four is $22,050 a
year.
- 37.3 million
Americans live in poverty; 13.1
million of them are children
(2007).
- 500,000 more
children live in poverty now
than a year ago; 300,000 of
them are under 6 years of age.
- 18% of American
children live in poverty, a
higher percentage than any other
age group.
Source:
"Income, Poverty and Health
Coverage in the United States:2007;
U.S. Dept. of Commerce U.S. Census
Bureau, August 2008; http://www.census.gov/prod/2008pubs/p60-235.pdf
Food
Assistance Programs & Resources
Child
nutrition programs make a positive
difference. For families that use
them, they can mean the difference
between empty tummies and the ability
to function productively and healthfully.
For children, they can mean the
difference between healthy growth
. . . and failure to thrive.
- 1 in 5 Americans
use at least one of USDA's food
and nutrition assistance programs
during the year.
Source:
U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Food and
Nutrition Service, "Leading
the Fight Against Hunger,"
June 2008; http://www.fns.usda.gov/fncs/hunger.pdf
Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP,
formerly "food stamps"):
- The average
monthly SNAP benefit is $101.53
per person, or $1.12 per meal.
- 28.4 million
Americans used SNAP in an average
month of 2008.
- 14.2 million
American children received SNAP
benefits in 2008.
- 3.8 million
households receiving SNAP benefits
also report earnings; these
are the "working poor".
Source:
U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Food and
Nutrition Service, Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program Monthly
Summary; http://www.fns.usda.gov/pd/34SNAPmonthly.htm.
U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Food and
Nutrition Service, "Leading
the Fight Against Hunger,"
June 2008; http://www.fns.usda.gov/fncs/hunger.pdf
Special
Supplemental Nutrition Program for
Women, Infants and Children (WIC):
- 8.7 million
American women and children
under the age of 5 participated
in WIC (2008).
- 6.5 million
(75%) of 2008 participants were
children and infants.
- $43.42 was
the average monthly food benefit
each participant received in
2008.
- Every $1
spent on WIC results in $1.77
to $3.13 in Medicaid savings
for newborns and their mothers.
Source:
U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Food and
Nutrition Service, Special Supplemental
Nutrition Program for Women, Infants
and Children Monthly Data, January
28, 2009; http://www.fns.usda.gov/pd/37WIC_Monthly.htm
National
School Lunch Program:
- On an average
school day, 31.7 million American
children eat a federally funded
school lunch (2008).
- 18.5 million
(60%) of these children participate
in the free or reduced-price
school lunch program, 900,000
more than a year ago.
Source:
U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Food and
Nutrition Service, Summary of Food
and Nutrition Service Programs,
January 28, 2009; http://www.fns.usda.gov/pd/currentsum.htm
National
School Breakfast Program
- On a typical
school day, 10.6 million school
children eat school breakfast
(2008).
- 8.5 million
school children receive their
breakfast for free or at a reduced
price - 270,000 more than a
year ago.
- 10 million
eligible children do not get
a free or reduced price school
breakfast.
Source:
U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Food and
Nutrition Service, National School
Breakfast Program Summary, January
28, 2009; http://www.fns.usda.gov/pd/sbsummar.htm
Summer
Food Service Program
- 32,700 sites
serve 2.1 million children 129.8
million meals (2008).
- 16.3 million
kids qualify for summer meals
but don't receive them.
Source:
U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Food and
Nutrition Service, Summer Food Service
Program Summary; http://www.fns.usda.gov/pd/sfsummar.htm |
