[Press Release] More than 35 Million of Americans Lived In Food Insecure Households in 2005

from the Food Research and Action Center

Percentage of Households in Worst-Off Category Remains Unchanged

Washington , D.C. – The Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) announced that the food insecurity rates in the United States dropped somewhat in 2005, but more than 35 million people were still living in households considered food insecure. Moreover, the food insecurity rate still remains higher than in 1999-2001.

Today’s release of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s annual analysis of Census Bureau survey results follows five years of straight increases in the number of Americans living in households that were not able to afford the food they need. In 2004, 38 million people were in households considered to be food insecure.

The number of people in the worst-off households (previously called “food insecure with hunger” and now called “very low food security” households) actually rose in 2005, from 10.7 to 10.8 million. The percentage of households in this category stayed flat at 3.7 percent. This lack of improvement in the worst-off households is consistent with other studies and the Census Bureau poverty data, which show worsening conditions for the poorest Americans.

“It is simply unacceptable that after years of economic growth, 35.1 million people in this country face a constant struggle against hunger,” said Jim Weill, president of the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC). “While the small drop is a move in the right direction, we should be far from satisfied. Change is moving too slowly for those still struggling, and we need to make ending hunger a national priority. We will be calling on Congress to attack this shameful national condition with new commitment and new energy.”

The 35.1 million number for 2005 includes 22.7 million adults (10.4 percent of all adults) and 12.4 million children (16.9 percent of all children). Of those, 10.8 million lived in households that were considered to have “very low food security,” a new USDA term that means one or more people in the household were hungry over the course of the year because they couldn’t afford enough food.

The 2005 survey made technical changes in the terms used, which came as a result of a review of the food security survey by the National Academies of Science. The survey methodology, however, did not change. “The technical terms have been revised, but it doesn’t change the reality of stagnant wages, rising costs for housing, health and energy, and the resulting squeeze on food. Millions of people don’t have enough to feed themselves, their families or their children,” said Jim Weill, president of the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC).

The report also includes food insecurity rates for each state, using three-year averages to give a better estimate of the number of households experiencing food insecurity. The ten states with the highest food insecurity rates in 2005 were New Mexico, Mississippi, Texas, South Carolina, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Utah, Idaho, North Carolina and Tennessee.

“While the federal nutrition programs have been a bright spot in addressing hunger and connecting people to a healthy diet, we need to do more to increase their access to adequate food,” continued Weill. “As we look ahead to a new Congress and the upcoming Farm Bill, we must make greater public investments to address the persistent problem of hunger in this country. We should take the opportunity to make food stamps a more robust program by increasing monthly benefits, supporting outreach efforts and removing arbitrary bars to eligibility.”

Black (22.4 percent) and Hispanic (17.9 percent) households experienced food insecurity at far higher rates than the national average.

“Each household has its own experience of what these numbers mean, from families having to decide between buying adequate food, keeping current on rent or heating their house to parents who skip meals so their children can eat,” said Lynn Parker, FRAC’s director of child nutrition programs. “For children in the household, hunger and food insecurity mean they’re less ready to learn and less likely to be healthy.”

There are a number of key investments that can be made to address hunger, according to FRAC.

* Strengthen the Food Stamp Program in the upcoming Farm Bill.
* Connect more children to child nutrition programs, such as school breakfast, summer meals, child care food and afterschool snacks and meals.
* Boost family incomes through strategies like an increased minimum wage and refundable tax credits for low-income workers.

Since 1995, the United States Department of Agriculture, using data from surveys conducted annually by the Census Bureau, has released estimates of the number of people in households that are food insecure. Food insecure households are those that are not able, for financial reasons, to access a sufficient diet at all times in the past 12 months. Experts agree that the Census/USDA measure of food insecurity is a conservative one, with the result that only households experiencing substantial food insecurity are so classified.