More Americans feel economic pinch in their stomachs
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More Americans last year lacked the ability to put adequate food on their tables than in any year since the federal government began monitoring food insecurity, according to a government report today.
The report, posted on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s website, blamed the current recession for the increasing number of people who are having difficulty meeting their dietary needs.
“The recent economic downturn has brought a sharp increase in the number of Americans who report having difficulty meeting their food needs,” said the report. “In fact, in 2008, the number and percentage of U.S. households classified as ‘food insecure’ reached the highest level recorded since federal monitoring of food insecurity began in 1995.”
Food insecurity is generally defined as “inadequate or unsure access to enough food for active, healthy living.” It can manifest itself as not having enough money to buy food through the month or having to eat less or ingesting poorer-quality food to make ends meet.
According to the report, the number of food-insecure U.S. households rose from 13 million in 2007 to 17.1 million last year. That is an increase from 11.1% of all households to 14.6% in a year.
The number of food-insecure households with children and without was evenly split at about 2 million. However, the increase for households with children was larger, from 15.8% in 2007 to 21% in 2008. The corresponding increase for households without children was from 8.7% to 11.3%.
The report notes that the increase in insecurity in the current recession was worse than the 2001 recession, which was milder.
-- Michael Muskal
