Salt of the Earth: Stat House

Stat house
October 2000

USDA reports "improvements" in hunger relief
A new U.S. Department of Agriculture report finds the number of U.S. households that experienced food insecurity declined by about 12 percent from 1995 to 1999, and the number of households that experienced hunger declined by 24 percent over the same period. Despite this improvement, however, nearly 8 million people—over one third of them children—lived in households that experienced hunger in 1999.

"This report tells us that governments, communities and nonprofit organizations must continue the job of making sure no one goes hungry," said Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman, who released the report September 8 at America's Second Harvest Annual Conference.

The report defines a food insecure household as one that is uncertain of having, or unable to acquire, adequate food to fully meet their basic needs because of inadequate resources. Households that are food insecure with hunger are those in which one or more members experienced hunger because of inadequate resources at least some time during the year.

Despite the improvement registered over the last five years, food insecurity remains a reality for many U.S. households. During the year ending April 1999, 10.1 percent (or 10.5 million) of the nation's almost 105 million households were food insecure, and 3 percent (or 3.1 million) experienced food insecurity with hunger.

The report, issued annually since 1997, found that in 1999:

31 million Americans lived in food insecure households.

7.8 million people—5.1 million adults and 2.7 million children—lived in households in which one or more members experienced hunger.

Among households of single mothers with children, nearly 30 percent were food insecure; 8 percent were food insecure with hunger.

Black and Hispanic households faced greater food-related hardship than the national average, with both groups registering rates of food insecurity with hunger of about 6 percent.

More than one-third of households with income below the Federal poverty line were food insecure; 12 percent were food insecure with hunger.

USDA resources and materials to help local governments, communities and nonprofit organizations build partnerships at all levels to eliminate hunger, improve nutrition and enhance community food security, include:

A Community Food Security Resource Kit that provides comprehensive information on Federal resources and best practices to fight hunger, improve nutrition and strengthen local food systems.

$1.4 million in WIC Special Project Grants to improve and strengthen the effectiveness of WIC nutrition services in six states—Tennessee, Washington, New Mexico, Iowa, Massachusetts, and Maine.

$300,000 outreach effort for states to reach current and potential WIC participants more effectively by developing new partnerships in five states—Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and District of Columbia.

"Guide to Measuring Household Food Security," a handbook designed to help states and communities adopt measurement methods to conduct more intensive studies on hunger and food insecurity in their own states and communities.

For additional information on the report "Household Food Security in the United States, 1999," go to website: www.ers.usda.gov/.

For More on hunger in the U.S.: Second Harvest: Who is hungry?

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