Facts about hunger in America

Understanding “Hunger” and “Ending Hunger”

Where there is poverty, there will almost always be hunger.

To end hunger in the United States we need to understand the hunger problem and to understand what “ending hunger” is and what it is not. Understanding this will help you understand why certain approaches in dealing with hunger make more sense than other approaches.

Scope of hunger

Hunger in the United States is the result of too many people not having enough money to cover all their basic needs.

A common misconception about hunger in the United States is that between one and two million people are hungry or are just a meal or two away from it. The real number is between 30 and 40 million people.

Not all of them are hungry right now, but they are able to avoid hunger by shortchanging some other critical need.

The good news is that most of those who are hungry at any given moment are only temporarily in that condition. Government studies show that approximately 70 percent of those who are needy at any given moment will cycle out of it within 4.5 months. That's because most American households are only a paycheck or two away from being in need.

Who’s hungry?

Up to 70 percent of all Americans are at risk. They are getting along okay, and then they lose their job or their work hours are cut back, or their purse gets stolen, or the transmission goes out in the car, or a child gets sick and suddenly there aren’t enough dollars to cover the household’s needs. These are the types of reasons why people seek food aid. Not because they are multigenerational welfare recipients or are people who don’t know how to budget, work or cook. They are just like you or me, but on the other side of bad luck. But as soon as possible they will get back on their feet and you will never see them again.

Hunger relief is important

Hunger hurts. It can tear people and families apart. It can cause people to seek relief in drink or drugs, or to strike out in helpless fear, frustration and humiliation.

Up to one in 10 people in your community face that dilemma today.

But keep in mind that in this context “ending hunger” does not mean that we can directly reduce the number of people who might occasionally need food assistance, how often they might need help or how much help they will need. As a general rule, the only things that significantly reduce need levels are economic booms, increases in wages, construction of low-income housing and increases in government aid programs. Food pantries don’t provide these. We provide food.

Some may object that food assistance is only a band-aid. Indeed it is. But sometimes a band-aid is the right tool for the job.

In general the operative definition of “ending hunger” in our work is the goal that:

Whenever anyone in the geographic area we serve ever experiences a time of needing food assistance, they can readily access timely, adequate, appropriate assistance sufficient to see them safely through that time of need.