The Food Research and Action Center (FRAC), national nonprofit organization dedicated to ending hunger in the United States, recently released a report that showed that hunger was on the rise again in America. On a national level, participants in the FRAC report were "...asked in the last quarter of 2009 (October through December) 'Have there been times in the past twelve months when you did not have enough money to buy food that you or your family needed?' 18.5 percent of households in the U.S. answered 'yes.' This percentage had shot up from 16.3 percent in the first quarter of 2008 to 19.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008 – a period during which the economic crisis was starting, unemployment was rising, and food prices were rapidly rising."
Oregon was fortunate to be among of the 25 states that ranked below the 20% rating for food hardships reports. The states that suffered the highest rates of hunger were Mississippi, Arkansas, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Louisiana, South Carolina, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Nevada, Georgia, Florida, Texas, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia.
For households with children the numbers were significantly worse. According to the survey, "... nearly one in four such households suffered food hardship in 2009." Mississippi, the state with the highest incidence of food hardships report, saw their numbers increase when children under the age of 18 were factored into the statistics. Mississippi households without children held a hunger rating of 22.5 percent while Mississippi households with children held a hunger rating of 33.8 percent. Oregonians saw their hunger rating vary from 15 percent in households without children to 26.7 in households with children.
The report brought together statistics from 100 of the largest metropolitan areas and ranked them from 1 to 100 (1 = most challenging food hardship reports and 100 = least challenging food hardship reports) As stated in the summary, "... 82 saw 15 percent or more of respondents answer the question in the affirmative. For the 50 largest MSAs, 15 had more than one in four households with children reporting food hardship." The Portland/Vancouver area sat in the middle of the metropolitan areas surveyed with a rank of 52 out of 100. The Eugene/Springfield metropolitan area fared a little better with a ranking of 67 out of 100.
The results of this study has served to further FRAC's efforts to solve the problem of hunger in America. This organization specializes in a multidimensional program which includes research, improving and monitoring public policies that effect the poor and undernourished, training for food outreach programs, and education on nutrition and poverty. More information on FRAC's programs can be viewed on their web site or by calling (202) 986-2200.
Food hardship report reveals increasing poverty in America
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AP Photo/Danny Johnston
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I think this story is partly bunk, because we don't have anybody REALLY hungry in this country, not like during the Great Depression. You don't see hungry orphans wandering the streets, people's cats and dogs don't come up mysteriously missing, nobody breaking into grocery stores in the middle of the night, nothing like that. Yes, there are people that are of little means, and they have difficulty supporting themselves, but, hunger? True hunger? Like, haven't eaten in 3 days? No. What we DO have is a lot of welfare agencies, and charities, and so forth, and they do provide for those in need. But, there's also those simply in want, mainly they want for some self-control, because you also see obesity go hand-in-hand with poverty, people that eat all the free food they can lay hands on, because they really aren't proficient in supporting themselves. To REALLY help someone is to help them to help themselves, handouts cure the symptom, but the cause is more complex.
Bert: You don't see orphans wandering the streets? What city do you live in? I don't see a lot of children, I admit, but I see plenty of homeless adults doing just that. "Will work for food" signs are all over the freeway exits & on the downtown sidewalks in PDX.
Welfare agencies and charities often come up short or are so woefully understaffed that they can't get the food to the people who need it even if they have it.
True hunger? Yes, we do have it. Ask Sharon Thornberry, who had to feed 3 children for 3 days on $5. That Oregonian article will also answer your question about obesity: cheap food is very often low in nutrition but high in fat and calories.
Does it have to get to people eating cats & dogs to make it real? I agree that the root cause of hunger must be addressed (poverty, underemployment, poor education, etc.), but to dismiss the under-nourished of our country as simply lazy or lacking in self-control is not only a gross over-generalization but also mean-spirit
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