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Hunger and Poverty Statistics
Poverty Remains High
In 2005, 37 million people (12.6%) were in poverty.
In 2005, 7.7 million families were in poverty.
In 2005, 20.5 million (11.3%) of people aged 18-64 were in poverty.
In 2005, 12.9 million (17.8%) children under the age of 18 were in
poverty.
In 2005, 3.6 million (10.1%) seniors 65 and older were in poverty,
an increase from 3.5 million in 2004. [1]
In 2004, 3.9 million children lived in low-income households where
neither parent worked. [2]
The Number of Americans and Households Food
Insecure and Hungry is Rising
- In 2004, 38.2 million people lived in food-insecure households,
including 13.9 million children
- In 2004, 11.9% of households (13.5 million households) were food
insecure compared to 11.2% (12.6 million households) in 2003.
- In 2004, 3.9% of households (4.4 million households) lived in food
insecure households where one or more members was hungry compared to
3.5% in 2003. [3]
Strong Correlation Between Food Insecurity,
Use of Emergency Food Assistance, and Federal Food Assistance Programs
In 2004, food-insecure households were 17 times more likely to use
food pantries than food-secure households and 16 times more likely to
use emergency kitchens than food-secure households.
In 2004, 15% of households with incomes below the poverty line
received food from pantries compared to 0.8% of households with incomes
above 185% of the poverty line.
In 2004, 3.9 million households (3.5% of all households) received
emergency food assistance from food pantries one or more times during
the year.
In 2004, 65.1% of food pantry users received food from at least one
of the three largest federal food assistance programs which are the Food
Stamp Program (FSP), The National School Lunch Program (NSLP), and the
Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children
(WIC). [4]
The Use of Emergency Food Assistance Is
Growing [5]
America’s Second Harvest Network provides emergency food assistance
to an estimated 25 million low-income people annually, an 8% increase
from 23 million since Hunger In America 2001.
America's Second Harvest provides emergency food assistance to
approximately 4.5 million different people in any given week.
Among members of the America's Second Harvest network, 65% of
pantries, 61% of kitchens, and 52% of shelters reported that there had
been an increase since 2001 in the number of clients who come to their
emergency food program sites.
Among all kitchen client households, 1 in 4 people (23.5%) are
children under 18.
America’s Second Harvest serves 9 million children under the age of
18, 2 million of those are young children under age 5.
Among client households with children, 73.1% are food insecure,
31.3% are food insecure with hunger.
America's Second Harvest serves nearly 3 million people age 65 or
older.
Food Is The Second Largest Expense For
Families
Regardless of income level, food is the second largest average
expense on a child for families, accounting for 15% to 20% of
child-rearing expenses. [6]
The Number of Americans Unemployed Remains
High
In 2005, the average unemployment rate in the United States is
5.1%. [7]
1
U.S. Census Bureau, Carmen DeNavas-Walt, B. Proctor, C. Lee. Income,
Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2005.
2
Ann E. Casey Foundation, 2005 Kids Count Book State Profiles of Child
Well-Being.
3
USDA Household Food Security in the United States, 2004.
4
Ibid.
5
America’s Second Harvest, Hunger In America 2006
6
USDA Expenditures on Children by Families, 2004.
7
Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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