Food Insecurity Rising in America
In 2008 14.6 percent of U.S. households fell into the food-insecure category at some point during the year-the
highest rate since the Department of Agriculture started recording stats in 1995.
What is food insecurity?
It’s the kind of hunger that is typical in the U.S. A family might get SNAP the government’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits or a wage check but they still have to skimp on groceries and they run out of food around the 20th or the 25th of the month.
We’re not talking about people starving but it’s not rare that people go hungry.
What happens to families who suffer from food insecurity?
The main issue is intermittent hunger.
Food-insecure families also buy cheap crummy food. Food insecurity does huge health damage especially to
little kids. When people don’t get enough food the available nutrition goes to vital organs like the lungs but it doesn’t go to the brain. Kindergartners might be naughty and act up or be grumpy. For adults too hunger is bad for your health and mental health. It’s very stressful.
Because of high unemployment one in four U.S. kids now lives in a household that sometimes runs out of food.