"Missing Meals" a different way of measuring hunger

Second Harvest Heartland of Minnesota released a new study today that measures hunger in a different way. The food bank says that 125 million meals are being missed by people in need.

The St Paul Star Tribune collects other findings from the study. Writer Paul Walsh was at it's presentation.

The "Missing Meals" study is a collection of secondary data that pinpoints exactly how many meals Minnesotans in need are missing. This breaks from the pattern of hunger-relief organizations simply identifying the number of individuals seeking meal assistance.

Among the report's other key findings:

• On average, low-income Minnesotans in the seven county metro area missed 8 percent of their meals.

• About 22 percent of meals for needy Minnesotans is supplied through federal nutrition programs, such as food stamps or school lunch programs.

• There are more than 950,000 Minnesotans who are classified as low-income.

Last year, Second Harvest Heartland assisted with the distribution of 41 million pounds of groceries to hungry seniors, families and children through more than 1,000 non-profit member agencies and programs serving 59 counties in Minnesota and western Wisconsin. For more information, visit www.2harvest.org.