Nov. 23, 2010
Federal Report Released This Week Shows Hunger Gap Is Growing in Mountain State
Special to Huntingtonnews.net
Charleston, WV (HNN) – West Virginia and Florida have seen the greatest increases in food insecurity during the past three years, according to a survey released this week by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
In its 2009 Report on Household Food Insecurity in the United States (www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/ERR108/), the USDA reports that the prevalence of food insecurity increased by a statistically significant percentage in 30 states between 2007 and 2009, with the largest increases observed in Florida and West Virginia.
About 14.7 percent of U.S. households (17.4 million households) were "food insecure" in 2009, meaning they had difficulty feeding one or more of their members at some point last year due to a lack of financial resources, according to the report. This problem has grown through the recession, with 5.7 percent of U.S. households (6.8 million households) having very low food security, a severe range of food insecurity in which the food intake of some household members was reduced and normal eating patterns were disrupted due to limited resources.
The prevalence of food insecurity was strongly associated with income. Rates of food insecurity were substantially higher than the national average among households with incomes near or below the Federal poverty line. For example, 43 percent of households with incomes below the official poverty line were food insecure, compared with 7.6 percent of those with incomes above 185 percent of the poverty line, according to the report.
In West Virginia, more than 562,000 individuals live below the federal poverty level (more than 108,000 individuals age 65 and over), according to 2009 statistics by the U.S. Census Bureau.
“This report confirms the struggles West Virginia families are facing in meeting the challenges associated with the national downturn in the economy, particularly older West Virginians who live on fixed incomes and have not seen any adjustments in their Social Security income,” said Gaylene Miller, AARP West Virginia Senior State Director. “AARP West Virginia is working with stakeholders and partners to address these challenges and find solutions that provide every West Virginian with access to adequate food supplies.”
AARP West Virginia recently hosted a Benefits Summit discussion in Charleston for state and federal stakeholders engaged in the fight against hunger. The AARP Foundation has launched a national anti-hunger initiative that includes distributing outreach and planning toolkits on helping older Americans who are food insecure; working to simplify and eliminate barriers to enrollment in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP); and encouraging and helping older adults apply for SNAP benefits. For more information on AARP’s hunger initiative efforts, visit www.aarp.org/hunger.
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Federal Report Released This Week Shows Hunger Gap Is Growing in Mountain State
Special to Huntingtonnews.net
Charleston, WV (HNN) – West Virginia and Florida have seen the greatest increases in food insecurity during the past three years, according to a survey released this week by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
In its 2009 Report on Household Food Insecurity in the United States (www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/ERR108/), the USDA reports that the prevalence of food insecurity increased by a statistically significant percentage in 30 states between 2007 and 2009, with the largest increases observed in Florida and West Virginia.
About 14.7 percent of U.S. households (17.4 million households) were "food insecure" in 2009, meaning they had difficulty feeding one or more of their members at some point last year due to a lack of financial resources, according to the report. This problem has grown through the recession, with 5.7 percent of U.S. households (6.8 million households) having very low food security, a severe range of food insecurity in which the food intake of some household members was reduced and normal eating patterns were disrupted due to limited resources.
The prevalence of food insecurity was strongly associated with income. Rates of food insecurity were substantially higher than the national average among households with incomes near or below the Federal poverty line. For example, 43 percent of households with incomes below the official poverty line were food insecure, compared with 7.6 percent of those with incomes above 185 percent of the poverty line, according to the report.
In West Virginia, more than 562,000 individuals live below the federal poverty level (more than 108,000 individuals age 65 and over), according to 2009 statistics by the U.S. Census Bureau.
“This report confirms the struggles West Virginia families are facing in meeting the challenges associated with the national downturn in the economy, particularly older West Virginians who live on fixed incomes and have not seen any adjustments in their Social Security income,” said Gaylene Miller, AARP West Virginia Senior State Director. “AARP West Virginia is working with stakeholders and partners to address these challenges and find solutions that provide every West Virginian with access to adequate food supplies.”
AARP West Virginia recently hosted a Benefits Summit discussion in Charleston for state and federal stakeholders engaged in the fight against hunger. The AARP Foundation has launched a national anti-hunger initiative that includes distributing outreach and planning toolkits on helping older Americans who are food insecure; working to simplify and eliminate barriers to enrollment in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP); and encouraging and helping older adults apply for SNAP benefits. For more information on AARP’s hunger initiative efforts, visit www.aarp.org/hunger.
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