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Bay Area Food Bank
“Serving the Central Gulf Coast”
Alabama, Florida, Mississippi
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 Advocate
Feeding America: Landmark New Study Reveals
Unprecedented Number of Americans Seeking Food
46 percent Increase in U.S. Citizens Receiving Emergency Food
37 Million Americans, Including 14 Million Children, at Risk of Hunger
CHICAGO --- February 2, 2010 --- A landmark study released today from Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization, reports that more than 37 million people, one in eight Americans -- including 14 million children and nearly 3 million senior -- receive emergency food each year through the nation’s network of food banks and the agencies they serve. The findings represent a staggering 46 percent increase since the organization’s previously released study in 2006.
Hunger in America 2010 is the first research study to capture the significant connection between the recent economic downturn and an increased need for emergency food assistance. The number of children and adults in need of food as a result of experiencing food insecurity has significantly increased.
More than one in three client households are experiencing very low food security—or hunger—a 54 percent increase in the number of households compared to four years ago.
An estimated 5.7 million people receive emergency food assistance each week from a food pantry, soup kitchen, or other agency served by one of Feeding America’s more than 200 food banks. This is a 27 percent increase over numbers reported in Hunger in America 2006, which reported that 4.5 million people were served each week.
To read the rest of the article, click here.
A summary of the findings and the local report for the Bay Area Food Bank
are available by clicking here. A summary of the findings and the full report are available on Feeding America's web site at www.feedingamerica.org/hungerstudy.
To review the 2010 Hunger Study Executive Summary, click on the link below.
Feeding America's Executive Summary
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