More Americans face the specter of hunger

More Americans face the specter of hunger


A jump in the number of Americans facing the prospect of going hungry. Last year the number of households uncertain of having or unable to afford enough food ballooned 31% to more than 17 million, up from 13 million in 2007, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Monday. About 14.6% of households fit the USDA’s definition of “food insecure” at some point in 2008 compared with 11.1% in 2007.

Single parents with children were disproportionately affected, as were black and Hispanic households and those with income below the poverty line ($21,834 for a family of four).

Nine states with food insecurity rates above the national average from 2006 through 2008 were clustered in the South. The list includes North Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas and New Mexico. The North Central states of Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota and Wisconsin were among the 11 that had food insecurity rates below the national average. Regionally, rates were lowest in the Northeast at an average 12.8%, and highest in the South, which averaged 15.9%, the report said.

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