More Americans Go Hungry

Although the number for household secure for food is still around 80% that number is dropping rapidly with the rising economic and job issues taking hold in the United States. More and more families are beginning to lost jobs and out of work unable to provide for their families. In a report given by the U.S department of Agriculture seventeen million children live in households with limited food supply and over a million who are without food at all. As the number of families needing support grows the food shortages at each food bank within the use also increases. As food decreases off the table many parents say there is not enough food to make balanced meals much of it not lasting until they could afford more food, this greatly affects the needs of the children within the households. The face of hunger can be somewhat distorted many Americans not even realizing the amount of families and children affected by this issue. Yet as jobs are lost and salaries dropped the dramatic increase in solving this problem will begin to surface. There are many ways to help, one by finding local food banks. One link is to the website Feeding America, which has a food bank locator where you can find ways to help volunteer or offer donations. Another thing this website provides is the statistics for each state, Florida alone has a Child Food insecurity rate of 15.9 % and those Under Five affected 16.4%. Education can play an exceedingly important part in helping these kids stay in school and stop from going hungry. The Backpack Program that began at many schools is a way children can be feed at home by giving backpacks full of food for children to have during the time away from school. They are even beginning to impart extra food with children who have smaller siblings at home and throughout the summer months. These program incourages students to stay in school because they receive the nutrition and food to survive be coming everyday and participating in the program. By starting small and helping out in our local communities it’s a start to try and help out the 1 and 8 Americans affected by hunger every day

Links:

Feeding America

Food DATA

Washington Post

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