Hunger and Poverty Facts
Hunger
- 14.5 percent of U.S. households struggle to put enough food on the table. More than 48 million Americans—including 16.2 million children—live in these households.
Source: Household Food Security in the United States, 2010. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, September 2011. (Table 1A, Table 1B) - More than one in five children is at risk of hunger. Among African-Americans and Latinos, nearly one in three children is at risk of hunger.
Source: Household Food Security in the United States, 2010. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, September 2011. (Table 1B, Table 3).
Child Nutrition
- Of the more than 20 million children who receive free or reduced-price lunch each school day, less than half receive breakfast and only 10 percent access summer feeding sites.
Source: FY2010 Program Data. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service. - For every 100 school lunch programs, there are only 87 breakfast sites and just 36 summer food program sites.
Source: FY2010 Program Data. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service.
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
- About half of all American children will receive SNAP benefits at some point before age 20. Among African-American children, 90 percent will enroll in SNAP before age 20.
Source: “Estimating the Risk of Food Stamp Use and Impoverishment During Childhood,” Archives of Pediatric and adolescent Medicine, Vul. 163 (No.11). November 2009. - One in seven people are enrolled in SNAP. Nearly half are children.
Sources: Monthly Program Data for October 2011. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service. Characteristics of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Households: Fiscal Year 2010. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, September 2011. - SNAP participation nearly doubled pre-recession levels, an increase of 18 million people.
Source: Monthly Program Data comparing July 2011 and November 2007. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service. - More than 90 percent of SNAP benefits are used up by the third week of the month.
Source: An Analysis of Food Stamp Benefit Redemption Patterns, Figure 4. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, June 2006.
Women, Infants and Children Program (WIC)
- One in every two babies born in the United States is enrolled in WIC.
Sources: Births: Preliminary Data for 2009. National Vital Statistics Reports, Vul. 59, No. 3, December 2010. Annual Program Data for 2008. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service. - Although 81.3 percent of eligible infants are enrolled in WIC, the program reaches just 47.3 percent of eligible children ages 1 to 4.
Source: WIC Eligibles and Coverage, 1994 to 2007: Estimates of the Population of Women, Infants and Children Eligible for WIC Benefits. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, September 2009. (Table 3).
Food Spending
- Low-income households already spend a greater share of their income on food. Food accounts for 16.4 percent of spending for households making less than $10,000 per year compared to the U.S. average of 12.7 percent.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Expenditure Survey, 2006.
Obesity/Nutrition
- Participation in federal nutrition programs reduces the risk of girls becoming overweight by increasing access to an adequate, nutritious diet. School-aged girls enrolled in SNAP, school lunch, and school breakfast programs are 68 percent less likely to be overweight than food-insecure girls who do not participate in the programs.
Source: Lower Risk of Overweight in School-aged Food-Insecure Girls Who Participate in Food Assistance. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, Vul. 157, No. 8, pp. 780-784, August 2003.
Poverty
More than one in seven people in the United States lives below the poverty line, which is $22,113 for a family of four in 2010. More than one in five children in the United States lives below the poverty line. Source: 2010 Annual Social and Economic Supplements from the Current Population Survey, U.S. Census Bureau, 2011.
- Most Americans (51.4 percent) will live in poverty at some point before age 65.
Source: Urban Institute, Transitioning In and Out of Poverty, 2007. - 65 percent of low-income families have at least one working family member, and 79 percent of single mothers who head households work.
Source: Income, Earnings, and Poverty data from the 2010 American Community Survey, U.S. Census Bureau, 2011. - In most areas, a family of four needs to earn twice the poverty line to provide children with basic necessities.
Source: National Center for Children in Poverty, Budgeting for Basic Needs, March 2009. - Nationally, more than 44 percent of children live in low-income working families (families who earn less than twice the poverty line).
Source: Income, Earnings, and Poverty data from the 2010 American Community Survey, U.S. Census Bureau, 2011. - A person working full-time at the minimum wage earns about $14,500 a year. The official poverty line for a family of three—one parent with two children—is $17,568.
Further Reading
Spotlight: Hunger and Poverty among African Americans
Did you know? One in four African Americans lives below the federal poverty line, compared to about one in eight Americans overall.U.S. Food Insecurity
Food insecure households are those that struggle to put food on the table at some point during the year.
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