New Federal Report: U.S. Hunger Spiked Even in 2008; 49.1 Million Americans Including 16.7 Million Children at Risk

The number of Americans who lived in homes that couldn’t afford a full and stable supply of food increased from 36.2 million in 2007 to 49.1 million in 2008, even before the worst of the current economic slowdown, according to data released today by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The prevalence of household food insecurity and hunger were the highest recorded since 1995, when the first national food security survey was conducted. Almost 16.7 million children lived in such food insecure households in 2008. {http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/err83/}

In New York State over the 2006-2008 time period, the percentage of households suffering from the greatest hunger – what USDA now calls “very low food insecurity” – increased slightly, from 3.1 percent in 2003-2005 to 4.3 percent. The overall number of food insecure households also increased statewide, from 10.4 percent in 2003-2005 to 11.3 percent in 2006-2008. That means that, throughout New York state – even when including relatively wealthy areas such as the New York City suburbs and the Upper East Side of Manhattan – more than one in ten families couldn’t afford enough food even when the economy was stronger in 2006-2008.

While USDA has not yet released 2008 data for New York City, the Coalition Against Hunger will announce new city-specific data the week of Monday, November 23rd, in its annual hunger survey media events in all five boroughs.

Said Joel Berg, Executive Director of the New York City Coalition Against Hunger, “Given that hunger and food insecurity were rampant in America and New York when the overall economy was stronger in the previous few years, it is no wonder that, during this economic meltdown, New York City is facing a serious hunger crisis. The only positive development is that SNAP/food stamp participation in New York City has been growing to meet the rising demand, preventing this terrible situation from getting even worse.”