Domestic Hunger & Poverty


  • 35.5 million people – including 12.6 million children – live in households that experience hunger or the risk of hunger. This represents more than one in ten households in the United States (10.9 percent).
  • 4.0 percent of U.S. households experience hunger. Some people in these households frequently skip meals or eat too little, sometimes going without food for a whole day.  11.1 million people, including 430 thousand children, live in these homes.
  • 6.9 percent of U.S. households are at risk of hunger. Members of these households have lower quality diets or must resort to seeking emergency food because they cannot always afford the food they need. 24.4 million people – including 12.2 million children – live in these homes.
  • Preschool and school-aged children who experience severe hunger have higher levels of chronic illness, anxiety and depression, and behavior problems than children with no hunger, according to a recent study.

 

(Sources: Bread for the World, Hunger Basics, 2008; World Bank World Development Report, 2008; UNICEF, 2008)

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