Number of Hungry Families in U.S. Rising

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Sat Nov 1, 7:57 AM ET


By EMILY GERSEMA, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - Despite the nation's struggle with obesity, the Agriculture Department says more and more American families are hungry or unsure whether they can afford to buy food.


Some 12 million families last year worried they didn't have enough money to buy food, and 32 percent of them actually experienced someone going hungry at one time or another, said a USDA report released Friday.


Nearly 3.8 million families were hungry last year to the point where someone in the household skipped meals because they couldn't afford them. That's 8.6 percent more families than in 2001, when 3.5 million were hungry, and a 13 percent increase from 2000.


The report was based on a Census Bureau (news - web sites) survey of 50,000 households. It marks the third year in a row the department found a rise in the number of people who are hungry or uncertain of whether they can afford their next meal.


The survey also found more families are unsure if they can buy food or don't have enough food in their cupboards.


Last year, 11 percent of 108 million families were in that situation. That's up 5 percent from 2001 and 8 percent from 2000.


Most poor families struggling with hunger tried to ensure their children were fed, the report said. Nonetheless, one or more children in an estimated 265,000 families occasionally missed meals last year because the families either couldn't afford to eat or didn't have enough food at home. The report estimated there were 567,000 hungry children in all.

Margaret Andrews, a UDSA economist and an author of the annual survey, said the prevalence of hunger and food insecurity is clearly tied to the poverty rate.


The survey "was a confirmation that the series of data over the years are behaving as you might expect, in a similar manner that poverty is," she said, noting that the latest estimates by the Census Bureau show more people are poor.


Some 34.6 million Americans were living in poverty last year — 1.7 million more than in 2001, according to the Census Bureau.


Hunger seems like an unlikely problem in a country where nearly 65 percent of adults and 13 percent of children are overweight, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (news - web sites).


Barbara Laraia, an associate professor of nutrition at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, said hunger and obesity can coexist because many hungry families buy high-calorie foods that are low in nutrients.

"They're dependent on foods that are going to make their bellies feel full, rather than on nutrients," Laraia said. "The diet is compromised."


Many families will spend their incomes on fixed expenses before buying food.


"Food is the most elastic part of the budget, meaning that's what households will compromise on when they have fixed payments such as their rent and their utilities," Laraia said.


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On the Net:


USDA Economic Research Service: http://www.ers.usda.gov

High calorie (as referenced) = high carbohydrate = low cost = low nutrition.

During a time in my life when I was out of work I remember living on a bag of potatoes because they were really cheap. Junk, high processed foods like cookies, white bread, cereal are pretty darn affordable compared to their healthier natural counterparts--particularly fresh fruits and vegetables and natural grain breads. The cost of beef is going up as well in the U.S. because of the problem with the Canadian beef. Luckily chicken is usually pretty affordable as a protein staple, and eggs aren't too bad either. Unfortunately, organic = high cost.

Here in Canada the beef farmers are loosing money but the savings have not been passed on to the consumers. In fact I think that beef has been more expensive this year. It's really a shame that the grocery stores gouge the consumers so badly and that alot of families cannot afford nutitious food.

I have to make a statement here. I was on Food Stamps yes I was on Welfare. I was 190 before I was on welfare I was 350 after welfare. Why? Because the free things I got were: cereal, milk, cheese (It had 5 grams of carbs), bread, crackers, pasta...rolls. Very high carbs. Sure it fed you but you were always hungry. We used to get cases of Ramin (oodles of noodles) for it was so cheap so was spagetti and sause, mac and cheese, and hot dogs with fries. Cheap and plentiful.
I can't imagine someone on food stamps going low carb. It would be tuna and salad all the time. You would have to creative.

It's the same with food pantries. Most donated foods are cheap and high carb...peas, corn, pasta, rice, mac & cheese, etc... It's rare for them to even get cans of tuna or peanut butter donated at our local food pantry.
If those statistics above bother you as they do me, do something about it! Donate to your local food pantries and donate healthy food, not just the cheap boxes of mac and cheese. Organize your church, youth group, office, etc...to do the same. Food pantries this time of year (and often the rest of the year as well) are chronically short of food supplies.
No, you can't feed every hungry person in your town, but every little bit makes a difference.

I confess that when I went low carb, I did donate my high carb food to the local food shelter. I used to love frosted mini wheats--I had a giant box of them that I gave away. I did donate pasta, canned fruit, hamburger helper--all carb stuff, which I guess technically in moderation would be sides to a main protein dish in a "regular" diet. It's the main course that appears to be missing. Shelters do ask for canned or boxed items--unfortunately that puts the fresh veggies and meats out to pasture (except as you mentioned such staples as canned tuna and peanut butter).

Some food banks will accept donations of fresh food such as veggies, eggs and meats, especially during the holidays when many take names and make up baskets to be donated to needy families, but it would be best to check and see what they have greatest need of before buying your donations. Something else that you can do with your empty egg cartons is to donate those as well instead of pitching them in the trash. Our food pantry at least gets bulk donations of eggs and needs the cartons to split them up.
Some other things that are protein related to consider donating are (all canned): tuna, chicken, salmon, Spam, peanut butter (try for the more natural kinds at least without hydrogenated fats) as well as cans of spinach, kale and collard greens. I personally hate canned veggies, but they're better than NO veggies. Instead of pasta and rice how about lentils and dried beans?

I know this may be a bit extreme for some folks, but for the past 2 years at my DH's family Christmas party instead of doing a gift exchange, we were all asked to spend the amount we would have spent on gifts on food and household items to be donated to a local food bank instead. With almost 40 of us in the immediate family, we wound up with quite a nice donation! None of us really needed more gifts and at least a few families didn't have to go without during the holidays.