Hunger is as prevalent as it is pernicious. It is not restricted only to third world countries or homeless people, but has increasingly become the province of families in highly industrialized nations, including the United States and Israel.
The Prevalence of Hunger
Current Data on Food Security and Poverty
Hunger and Poverty Levels – national and state-by-state via Food Research and Action Center
Household Food Security in the United States in 2011 via USDA
Data on Poverty via Census Bureau
MAZON’s Quick Facts About Hunger in America
MAZON’s 8 Myths About Hunger in America
Research Reports
Nourishing Change: Fulfilling the Right to Food in the United States | International Human Rights Clinic, NYU School of Law | May 2013
Sufficient, nutritious food is a basic human right for all Americans.
Hunger and Homelessness Survey | The United States Conference of Mayors | December 2012
A status report on hunger and homelessness in 25 of America’s cities.
Public Support for SNAP/Food Stamps | Food Research and Action Center | December 2012
Voters of all stripes see hunger as a serious problem.
Characteristics of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Households: Fiscal Year 2011 | USDA | November 2012
The characteristics of SNAP households, SNAP eligibility requirements and benefit levels.
Hunger in America: Suffering We Are All Paying For | Center for American Progress | October 2011
The real cost of hunger in America.
Infographics to Download
No Cuts to SNAP in the Farm Bill
The items your food bank needs most
Why are low-income and food insecure people vulnerable to overweight and obesity?
Food and Nutrition Assistance Programs
- About 1 in every 4 Americans participate in at least 1 of the 15 domestic food and nutrition assistance programs of the U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) that provide a nutritional safety net for millions of children and low-income adults.
Source: The Food Assistance Landscape, FY 2011 Annual Report. USDA: Economic Research Service.
SNAP/Food Stamp Program
How many people around you receive food stamps? An interactive tool for finding local SNAP data.
Selected information from the SNAP Data Summary 2010
- Households are considered food insecure when their lack of financial resources does not allow them to fully meet their basic food needs at all times.
- SNAP benefits, provided monthly via an electronic debit card, are available to most households with gross income less than 130 percent of the Federal poverty guidelines.
- Nearly 55 percent of SNAP participants are children or elderly. About 41 percent live in households with earnings.
- Half of all new SNAP participants receive benefits for 10 months or less.
Source: Building a Healthy America: A Profile of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, 2012. USDA: Office of Research and Analysis.
Looking for definitions of any of the words used here? Check out our glossary of nutritional and program terms.
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