Household Food Security

Posted on September 5, 2012 by townsend

• Recession still hurting U.S. families trying to put food on the table, By Pam Fessler, September 5, 2012, National Public Radio: “The number of U.S. families struggling to put enough food on the table remains at record high levels, according to new figures out today from the government. One in almost seven households last year were what the government calls ‘food insecure.’ That’s about the same level as in 2010, but still far higher than before the recession. The problem finding enough food is especially severe among households headed by single mothers with children. Before the recession, about one in ten households had a problem getting enough to eat. But in 2008, things got a lot worse. And it’s pretty much stayed that way ever since. The Agriculture Department today said that almost 18 million households had trouble putting food on the table last year. And that in about seven million of those households, people didn’t have enough to eat…”
• Hunger risks rose in 2011 along with food aid, USDA says, By Alan Bjerga, September 5, 2012, Businessweek: “The number of Americans who lived in households that struggled to afford food increased last year even as more participated in government nutrition-assistance programs, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. About 50.12 million Americans were ‘food insecure’ at some point during the year, up 2.6 percent from 2010 and second to the record 50.16 million in 2009, the USDA said today in an annual report. A record 46.7 million people received food stamps in June, up 3.3 percent from a year earlier, the USDA reported yesterday…”