Hunger Study 2006 (America's Second Harvest Network)

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Hunger Study 2006: http://www.hungerinamerica.org

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Welcome to Hunger Study 2006

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The America's Second Harvest Network produced "Hunger in America 2006 ," a comprehensive profile of the incidence and nature of hunger and food insecurity in the U.S.

http://www.hungerinamerica.org/

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About the Study

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Hunger in America 2006 is the largest, most comprehensive study of its kind ever conducted. The study provides authoritative, comprehensive, and statistically valid data on the national charitable response to hunger and the people served by private hunger-relief agencies. Through 52,000 face-to-face client interviews and 30,000 surveys of local charitable agencies, Hunger in America 2006 chronicles the nature and incidence of demand for emergency food assistance which, in turn, helps charitable feeding organizations better address the burgeoning need through program development and refinement. The results also better inform the public policy discourse so that federal nutrition programs can better serve those in need.

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The results of Hunger in America 2006 should be discomforting. It is difficult to understand how people living in this land of plenty can have to make decisions between paying for food or other household necessities. It is troubling that children and seniors, the country's most vulnerable citizens, may have to forgo their most basic need - the need for food - because of a lack resources. Hunger in America 2006 tells the stories of more than 25 million Americans—including 9 million children and nearly 3 million seniors—who receive emergency food assistance each year from America's Second Harvest—The Nation’s Food Bank Network of charitable agencies.

http://www.hungerinamerica.org/about_the_study/

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Key Findings

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WHO RECEIVES EMERGENCY FOOD ASSISTANCE?

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A2H agencies serve a broad cross-section of households in America. Key characteristics include:


• 36% of the members of households served by the A2H National Network are children under 18 years old (Table 5.3.2).
• 8% of the members of households are children age 0 to 5 years (Table 5.3.2).
• 10% of the members of households are elderly (Table 5.3.2).
• About 40% of clients are non-Hispanic white; 38% are non-Hispanic black, and the rest are from other racial groups. 17% are Hispanic (Table 5.6.1).
• 36% of households include at least one employed adult (Table 5.7.1).
• 68% have incomes below the official federal poverty level (Table 5.8.2.1) during the previous month.
• 5% are receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and 7% are receiving General Assistance (Table 5.8.3.2).
• 12% are homeless (Table 5.9.1.1).


MANY CLIENTS REPORT HAVING TO CHOOSE BETWEEN FOOD AND OTHER NECESSITIES


• 42% of clients served by the A2H National Network report having to choose between paying for food and paying for utilities or heating fuel (Table 6.5.1).
• 35% had to choose between paying for food and paying their rent or mortgage (Table 6.5.1).
• 32% had to choose between paying for food and paying for medicine or medical care (Table 6.5.1).

http://www.hungerinamerica.org/key_findings/