Hunger Facts

Some facts about hunger in Washington State:

The number of people needing to use food banks increased from 1.06 million in 1998 to 1.13 million in 2003.

The majority of food banks limit the number of visits their clients may make in a year to once a month because of insufficient resources. Food banks seldom close their doors because of lack of food. Instead, they stretch resources by providing less food to each family.

Washington State is FIFTH in hunger, according to the most recent USDA national survey.

This means that 1 in 25 families in Washington State (about 260,000 people) have at least one family member who goes hungry at times because there is not enough money for food.

1 in 8 families in the state are food insecure, or worry about where their next meal will come from.

280,000 kids, or 1 in 6 children in Washington State, are at risk of going hungry because their families are food insecure.

40 percent of food bank recipients are children.

Rural areas of the state have nearly twice the rate (22 percent) of food insecurity than metropolitan regions.

1 in 3 children qualify to receive free or reduced price school meals.

Over one-third of Washington counties have a poverty rate of 15 percent. The rate for rural counties is much higher; almost half have a poverty rate of 15 percent.

The number of people unemployed has gone from 144,600 in 1998 to 202,100 in 2004. At 6.5 percent, WA State's unemployment rate is nearly 1 percent above the national average.

Hunger in America
Americans are increasingly relying on food pantry services. Second Harvest estimates that 26 million people rely on emergency services to obtain food. Of these 26 million people, 75% have income under $10,000, only 35% are employed, and 60% have been on food stamps for one year or more. Reliance on food stamps is growing: there were 20 million food stamp recipients in 1990 and 26 million in 1996. Most people relying on food stamps are children.

Position of the American Dietetic Association
Chronic hunger due to poverty is more widespread than acute hunger due to famine. Of preschool-aged children in developing countries, 36% are moderately or severely malnourished (based on weight for age). Since 1985, hunger in the US has increased because of underfunding by the US government.

Nutrition and Cognitive Development in Children
Moderate undernutrition is the type most commonly seen in the United States, poverty being the primary factor leading to undernutrition in children. Though termed moderate, undernutrition has long-lasting effects on the cognitive development of children including the possibility of leading to educational failure.