Essay On Hunger Food Pantry

One of the most pressing problems faced by low income households in the United States is hunger with one in seven Americans struggled with hunger in 2013. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, more than 49 million Americans lived in households struggling against hunger in 2012. Of them, 15.7 million were children (21.4 percent of all children). Previously, in 2012, 48.9 million Americans lived in food insecure households. The number of people living in households with very low food security – the worst off households – remained steady at 17.1 million in 2012 and 2013. Low-income households are particularly vulnerable to fluctuations in the cost of food. For those with budgets already stretched to their limits, higher food costs …show more content…
According to a study conducted by Feeding America, 1 in 7 West Virginia people struggle with hunger [I]. More than one in six people lived in poverty in 2013. According to the American Community Survey, 98.8 million people, or 32.1 percent of all Americans, lived on less than 185 percent of the federal poverty level in 2013. This means they are income-eligible for most federal nutrition programs, like food stamps and child nutrition programs – assistance, which can help them stretch their food dollars and get access to healthy foods. Children continue to have high poverty rates, with 19.5 percent of children under 18 (14.1 million) living in poverty in 2013. According to the American Community Survey, 30.1 million (41.6 percent) of all children under 18 lived in families with incomes below 185 percent of the federal poverty level. Proper nutrition is critical to a child’s development and can have serious implications for a child’s physical and mental health, academic achievement and future economic prosperity. Feeding programs include pantries, shelters, soup kitchens, day care centers, after school programs, back pack programs, and senior