Hunger Fact Sheet

Who We Are             

Feeding America provides low-income individuals and families with the fuel to survive and even thrive. As the nation’s leading domestic hunger-relief charity, our network members supply food to more than 25 million Americans each year, including 9 million children and 3 million seniors. Serving the entire United States, more than 200 member food banks support 63,000 agencies that address hunger in all of its forms. For more information on how you can fight hunger in your community and across the country, visit www.feedingamerica.org.

Who We Help            

Feeding America provides emergency food assistance to more than 25 million Americans in need every year.

Following is an ethnic breakdown:

• 40 percent are Non-Hispanic White
• 38 percent are Non-Hispanic Black
• 17 percent are Latino or Hispanic
• 6 percent are American Indian, Alaskan Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander

Facts on Poverty and Hunger in America

Poverty

• According to our most recent hunger study, 66 percent of all Feeding America client households have annual household incomes at or beneath the poverty line.  (Hunger in America 2006; Table 5.8.4.1)
• 17.5 percent of all client households have annual incomes between 100 percent and 185 percent of the federal poverty level.  (Hunger in America 2006; Table 5.8.4.1)
• 6.2 percent have annual incomes of 186 percent of poverty or more.  (Hunger in America 2006; Table 5.8.4.1)
• The number of people below the poverty threshold numbered 39.8 million in 2008, a rate of 12.5 percent of all Americans.  (U.S. Census Bureau,  Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2008)
• The average annual income in 2004 among client households served by Feeding America was $11,210.  (Hunger in America 2006; Table 5.8.4.1)  
• 15 percent of all families with related children under 18 years of age live in poverty.  (2008 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Poverty Status in the Past 12 Months of Families; Table S1702. The American Community Survey only collects poverty status data for related and unrelated children ONLY which doesn’t include ALL children such as the Current Population Survey)

Food Insecurity

• An estimated 49.1 million Americans, or 16.4 percent, are food insecure; meaning their access to enough food is limited by a lack of money and other resources.  (USDA/ERS, Household Food Security in the United States: 2008)
• 41.5 percent of all client households served by Feeding America reported having to choose between buying food and paying for utilities or heat within the previous 12 months.  (Hunger in America 2006; Table 6.5.1)
• More than one-third (35 percent) of client households reported having to choose between paying for food and paying their rent or mortgage.  (Hunger in America 2006; Table 6.5.1)

• Nearly one-third (31.6 percent) of client households reported having to choose between paying for food and paying for medicine or medical care.  (Hunger in America 2006; Table 6.5.1)
• The rate of food insecure households with children is 21 percent (8.3 million households with children), nearly double the rate for households without children. (USDA/ERS, Household Food Security in the United States: 2008)

Children

• Over 9 million children are estimated to be served by Feeding America, over 2 million of which are ages 5 and under, representing nearly 13 percent of all children under age 18 in the United States and over 72 percent of all children in poverty.  (Hunger in America 2006; Table 5.3.2N)
• According to the USDA, an estimated 16.7 million children lived in food insecure households in 2008. (USDA/ERS, Household Food Security in the United States: 2008)
• 8 states plus DC have 20 percent or more of children under 18 living in food insecure households, the states of Texas (22.1 percent) and Mississippi (21.5 percent) have the highest rates of children in households without consistent access to food. (Cook, John, Child Food Insecurity in the United States: 2005-2007)
• The top five states with the highest rate of food insecure children under 18 are Texas, Mississippi, Tennessee, Arizona, South Carolina, plus District of Columbia . (Cook, John, Child Food Insecurity in the United States: 2005-2007)
• The top five states with the lowest rate of food insecure children under 18 are North Dakota, Virginia, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Hawaii. (Cook, John, Child Food Insecurity in the United States: 2005-2007)         

Seniors

• Feeding America serves nearly 3 million seniors age 65 and over each year, 2 out of every 10 households served by our network contains at least one member age 65 and over (Hunger in America 2006; Table 5.3.2N).
• 83.3 percent of all households with seniors served by Feeding America have annual incomes below 130 percent of the federal poverty level.  (Hunger in America 2006; Table 15.3.5)
• 30.8 percent of client households with seniors had to choose between buying food and paying for utilities and heating fuel.  (Hunger in America 2006; Table 15.5.2)
• Among client households with seniors, nearly 30 percent have had to choose between paying for food and paying for medical care.  (Hunger in America 2006; Table 15.5.2)      
• 8.1 percent of households with seniors (2.3 million households) were food insecure. (USDA/ERS, Household Food Security in the United States: 2008)
• Only 24.7 percent of households with one or more people 60 years and over receive food stamps. (2008 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Food Stamps, Table S2201.The ACS defines seniors as those 60 years of age and over whereas the CPS defines seniors as 65 years of age and over.)

Working Poor

• 36 percent of client households served by Feeding America include at least one employed adult.   (Hunger in America 2006; Table 5.7.1)
• 66 percent of all client households served Feeding America have annual incomes below the federal poverty line for 2004. 
• 46 percent of client households do not have access to a working car.  (Hunger in America 2006; Table 5.9.2.1).

Rural Hunger

• 42.6 percent of adult clients served by programs in Feeding America reside in suburban or rural areas, 28.5 percent of client households served in non-metropolitan areas reported that their children often or sometimes did not eat enough during the past year because there was not enough money to buy food.  (Hunger in America 2006; Table 5.2.1 and Table 15.4.1)
• 14.2 percent of rural households are food insecure, an estimated 2.8 million households. (USDA/ERS, Household Food Security in the United States: 2008) 
• 22.0 percent of all rural households with children are food insecure, over 1 million children. (USDA/ERS, Household Food Security in the United States: 2008)